HS Home 28.5.2002 - Skiing in Kilpisjärvi while the bird cherry blooms in the South

By Päivi Repo in Kilpisjärvi

Bird cherries are blossoming and birds are singing in the South, but people are still skiing in Kilpisjärvi in the North-West corner of Finland near the Swedish and Norwegian borders.

Skis are normally waxed in the village during the entire month of May, and competitive skiers show up in June to prepare their fitness for the next season. In fact, the village calls itself the only summertime skiing place in Finland.

May and June up North by the mountains is called the fifth season in Sweden, with good snow conditions suited for skiing combined with a nearly nightless night. The sun tans your skin even through the clouds, just like at the Mediterranean.

"I would not do this at home", Tarja Manninen muses as she makes her way in a thin drizzle, with skis in hand, towards the Norwegian border. Spring came weeks ahead of schedule this year, melting away the snow from the nearby areas. A seven-kilometre loop for cross-country skiers has been set up near the border.

The clouds are hanging low

on the sides of the mountains. "Normally we ski in T-shirts and shorts at this time of the year", consoles Orvokki Pennanen, a guide who takes the clients of Hotel Kilpis on skiing tours. Pennanen's tan is already chocolate-brown.

Manninen pauses to recall the previous year. "There was even less snow. We walked in rubber boots for two kilometres with our ski boots hanging around our necks. We left the rubber boots in a garbage sack on the mountain when we set out to ski."

On another day, Manninen was skiing in glorious sunshine on the lake when suddenly she noticed that her skis were sinking. She went along with them, up to her neck in the deep snow. "I was almost at the top when I sank again."

Skiing in late spring requires some attitude,

as there is no lack of setbacks. There are no more ski tracks, the sky can offer rain, snow, or sunshine, and the temperature can hit fifteen degrees or sink below freezing.

If the surface of the snow is hard enough, it is possible to ski anywhere one chooses. However, warm weather will cause the snow bridges that lead over streams to collapse.

"Someone who is looking for sunshine has come to the wrong place. You need to keep in mind that the weather makes no difference, and be prepared for all kinds of weather", advises Lauri Jehkonen, who has spent time in Kilpisjärvi during the weeks after May Day ever since 1968.

Despite the difficulties, there are so many people interested in the snow during May that some of next year's weeks are already fully booked. All those who are interested in such a trip cannot find lodging for the short but intense season, with avid fans who have come to the North for even forty years.

"Something draws us here",

Jehkonen explains. "Over twenty years ago, we tried to change places, but it did not work out. This is the best."

Why? Many reasons, according to Jehkonen. The time, peaceful skiing, and the chance to see three different mountains out of the window at one glance. "A person feels really small here."

While he skis, Jehkonen tests the equipment his outdoor-oriented store sells. Previously, he invited some manufacturers along, and now some of them have turned into Kilpisjärvi regulars who come up during the same week from one year to the next.

"This is the best", confirms Anna-Liisa Sippola, even though rain drenches her anorak. Sippola has travelled to Lapland regularly since the 1950s. "You can see for miles on end and ski wherever you want. Last year there were some people here for the first time and they definitely fell for this place."

Orvokki Pennanen, who has lived in Lapland for seven years, speaks of the Kilpisjärvi spirit, which includes the nature as well as peace and quiet. Stepping out of a hotel or cabin, one is immediately in the middle of wilderness.

The lack of a ski lift

seems to have turned into an advantage. "The people here are true campers who enjoy skiing, not any fancy crowd", Jehkonen observes. In fact, those who set out to ski can do so without listening to voices from the local restaurant terrace encouraging people to step onto tables to dance, which can definitely occur further South.

As the sun shines, all adversity is forgotten. The sky seems incredibly high when Pennanen leads her gang first by foot, then on skis to a hill behind the Saana mountain. At the top of the ascent of a few hundred metres, there is plenty of snow and a chance to ski downhill for long stretches.

"Normally it is windy at the top, but now it isn't. It would be warm enough to ski in shorts, too bad that I do not have a pair with me", Pennanen says.

On the way back, we can hear water gushing beneath the snow. Leila Koho, who has visited Kilpisjärvi ever since 1963, falls over onto her back while taking a picture, but sighs with pleasure. "This is so wonderful. I spend a week here and live on it for the rest of the year. My asthma also gets better for a long time."

Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 20.5.2002