Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!

Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

Ruka, Finland 2016

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Just arrived for our first visit to Ruka in Finland. Breathtakingly beautiful in a mellow sort of way. Not skied yet, but the snow looks like it's going to be awesome Happy

The big question though, did the pilot demand winter tyres for his flight today...





latest report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Oh wow that looks awesome, enjoy Rob!
snow report
 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Wow beautiful! Smiling at the great action shot at the bottom of the slope Happy
snow conditions
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Looks terrific. Looking forward to lots of reports and pictures of the week. snowHead
ski holidays
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Been there twice and loved it both times, and everywhere you stay has a sauna!!
Pass by the park and just watch the kids there, the fins are awesome in the park!
Plus they have a great mogul run if that takes your fancy.
snow report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Pretty at night as most of the pistes seem to be illuminated.



snow report
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Couple of photos from today, the first showing how busy it was at the main lift out of the village at 9.30 this morning



Trees or snow monsters?
ski holidays
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Looks fantastic. I am looking at holiday options to go out there between Christmas and New Year with extended family as seems like there is plenty to do for the non skiers.

Do you mind me asking who you have organised the trip through or have you done it independantly?.
ski holidays
 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Crystal. We did initially look at a DIY package for the 21 we have in our group, but the only direct flight from the UK is a charter so it was cheaper to use a TO for this trip.
ski holidays
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
What's the temperature?
snow conditions
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@pam w, this week between -5 degrees and zero. Warm by local standards. Last couple of weeks around -10, but -35 earlier in the winter.
ski holidays
 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
It's not like the Alps, but it is rather beautiful.

latest report
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Quote:

-35 earlier in the winter.

Brr. @Tinkling, something to look at. Very dark, and very cold, perhaps at the turn of the year.

It does look nice, and the snow must be great.
snow report
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
But the flip side of it being cold and dark in the middle of winter is that by the end of March the days should be longer there than in the Alps, so if you pick the right time (e.g. Easter) you could get a very different experience.
snow conditions
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Ruka has a very long season, typically late October to early May, so plenty of opportunity to ski under the "midnight sun".
ski holidays
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Yes, I was very interested to try to Ruka trip but in the end decided on 8 days in Tignes in October - which was also excellent. I spent 8 days in the Norwegian arctic last summer (land of the midnight sun.....) and am keen to get back to that part of the world.
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
A few more photos from today:









snow report
 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Pam..Thats my one concern with going end of December it being very cold and dark. Im self employed and we close for 2 weeks over Christmas so far easier and less costly in terms of loss of business to go then.

My family are coming with us an Finland fits the bill far better for the non skiers than any resort ive seen in the Alps unless someone can advise differently?. I also want to learn cross country skiing.

What are the costs like for eating out?. Im looking at the Crystal packages and pondering over self catering, hotel with breakfast or half board?.

Those pictures look superb..
snow conditions
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Non-skiing morning, with a range of Lapland excursions on offer for our group. Snowmobiles, husky dogs, snowshoeing all enormous fun, although a bit too warm for ice kart racing so maybe that will take place later in the week when it's forecast to get cold again.

Wonderful to mix up these activities with skiing, so 115kph on a snowmobile across a frozen Finnish lake, driving a dog team around forest trails and even cuddling a Husky puppy made for very special experiences. Now it's slamming down with fresh snow and I've just had a Northern Lights alert on my phone app, so hoping that the clouds will finally lift...

Team Inside Out Skiing park up after a 25km snowmobile ride


Ian with the transport team


Blissful and quiet (except for the laughs coming from the passenger in the sledge)


Puppy power


Dinner...?
latest report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Those husky pictures look great. snowHead

@Tinkling, you can learn XC skiing in the Alps too, you know. And go driving behind a dog sled. And go snow-shoeing! I was going to do that a couple of weeks ago but all the sled trips were fully booked so I'm going to have another attempt in March.
snow conditions
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Not mentioning any names, but one of our team did manage to roll his snowmobile down a bank. Another person fell off the sledge when driving the husky team.



Merciless teasing for the rest of the week is compulsory Toofy Grin
snow report
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@rob@rar, Laughing snow mobiles are not for boy racers..... wink
snow conditions
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
pam w wrote:
@rob@rar, Laughing snow mobiles are not for boy racers..... wink
Quite right.

Except for my one, which even had go-faster stripes on it.
latest report
 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Friend of ours dislocated her shoulder and suffered a labrum falling of a dog sled in Lapland - Danger lurks everywhere Toofy Grin
snow report
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Dog sledding is quite strenuous - I watched the beginning of a race in Les Saisies a couple of weeks ago. The mushers were having to throw their weight from one runner to the other to get round the bends. And if you fall off it might be ages before the dogs stop!
snow conditions
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@rob@rar,

In case you don't already know, there's a couple of sites for aurora forecasting as I'm sure your party would love to see the northern lights:

http://www.aurora-service.eu/aurora-forecast/
http://cc.oulu.fi/~thu/Aurora/forecast.html


@pam w,

Never let go of the sled, no matter what happens !!
ski holidays
 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@dsoutar, thanks. Frustratingly cloudy so far this week, but hoping it clears a little by the weekend.
ski holidays
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
A couple of photos from today's snowshoe hike.



ski holidays
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@rob@rar,

Also forgot to mention http://www.spaceweather.com/ for a more general approach.

I've been to northern Finland 4 times (5th next week) and we briefly saw them last year, and only a couple of times one week out of at all the previous 3 but that was spectacular and went on for several hours. I was ordered to get the duvet out of the cottage for the wife as it was below -20 and she was getting cold but didn't want to go in !
snow report
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Very quiet today, saw no more than half a dozen people in addition to my group on the run we were using for my carving clinic this morning. That's probably the quietest I've ever known skiing on piste.

Typical view for the morning's session


My team, after a full-on morning
snow report
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Wow. Lovely quiet pistes. By the way, was surprised to see that the snowshoe outing didn't involve poles. I always use long (cross country style) poles and tend to use them quite a lot when it's uneven, especially climbing (when my snowshoes, and all the ones I've come across) have a special position, which lifts the heel, makes it easier).
snow report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@rob@rar, looks like a great trip; bloody love the Arctic. A very different experience to anywhere else snowHead
snow report
 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Sharkymark wrote:
@rob@rar, looks like a great trip; bloody love the Arctic. A very different experience to anywhere else snowHead
It is, although it reminds me a little bit of Japan (but with a bit less snow).
snow report
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
@rob@rar, I was thinking the same now I'm here! Small hills that seem big...
latest report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@Sharkymark, seen some of your photos. Very nice. Need to plan a return trip soon, Finland and Japan.
snow report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
A few inches of fresh snow on top of the groomed pistes made for very creamy skiing first thing today. Most enjoyable. It's been overcast all day and snowing quite heavily for the last couple of hours. Lifts stay open until 11pm tonight, so planning on skiing after dinner.

Not busy. Again.


Trees and lakes everywhere.


Time for a team photo just under the cloud base
ski holidays
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Final day's skiing in Ruka for this trip. Cloud lifted for the first time this week, so we had a brief glimpse of the sun, some blue sky and much better visibility for seeing the snow (and the views). Once again we had a few centimetres of fresh snow on piste this morning, and a bit deeper in the side-of-piste. That's been typical of every day, so on piste snow conditions have generally been excellent.



Yesterday offered night skiing and marshmallow toasting. Slightly odd to get changed in to ski clothes after dinner and head to the slopes (lifts closed at 11pm).





Plenty of drills and synchro skiing today, including some excellent one-foot carving from my group. Very happy to see the progress over the week.





The morning coffee break was taken in the Wild Game restaurant which has the best doughnuts in the world. To great delight I learned that the Finnish for doughnuts is "munkki" pronounced in exactly the same way that Johnny Vegas refers to his simian friend in the PG Tips adverts Happy





A final view from this hidden gem of a little resort, looking east to Russia (about 30km away)


Plenty more photos across at Facebook
snow conditions
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Did you fly into kittila? Ruka is one of the last places I need to visit in Finland, how long was the transfer?
ski holidays
 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@notverygoodatskiing, no, we flew to Kuusamo. The transfer was a wonderfully short 25 minutes!
snow report
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Perfect, Finland is amazing that's for sure, been 6 times and loved it, hoping to go back for Christmas/new year, certainly different to anywhere else we've been to
latest report



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy