 Poster: A snowHead
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We went to Ylläs last year and I wrote a report (http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=2477120&highlight=yll%E4s#2477120) but thought I'd do another one because I only got one reply  and we had a shocker (last year) . Firstly, husband got some kind of horrible viral infection on day one which I then caught later in the week and this basically put a downer on the whole holiday and required considerable application of rule 5. The weather was also horrible all week with low cloud every day bar one. We decided to go back because we love Scandinavia and wanted to give it another chance. A bit of background, I am somewhere in the intermediate camp, husband is at the much higher end of said camp (he now appears to be able to carve and I am quite jealous). Previous trips have included Åre in Sweden, Alaska and Breckenridge. Also several trips to Cairngorm and a couple to the Lecht. This time we actually got to experience a proper holiday  . The weather was decent all week with good visibility all days bar one and a small glimpse of the northern lights.
The skiing
So, I'll start with the important part. Once again we stayed in Ylläsjärvi which is the quieter side and has the Gondola. You can also stay in Äkäslompolo which is the busier side (town wise) but I don't think this has ski in / out accommodation (our side did). We mainly ski'd on the Ylläsjärvi side. The first thing I'll say is that you really want the Gondola to be working. They don't run it when it gets windy and often there is no wind at the bottom and it's very windy higher up. I am used to drag lifts but the ones there are so so slow! If they sped some of them up it wouldn't be so bad. The snow was brilliant every day, we really couldn't have asked for better. We even got a lot of fresh snow one day and now I am desperate to learn how to ski powder, uh oh  . I also had some new planks, namely Blizzard Black Pearls which are, amazeballs, and way better than me but made me better also. Don't worry, husband also had some new planks, he wasn't left out!
Nothing there is very steep. From the top of the Gondola the runs further out are less steep than those directly under it. Lower down you can ski through the trees and there is an unpisted run under the Gondola. Going through the trees was great fun....did I mention I want to learn how to ski powder?? Ski school - last year I thought we had a good lesson. This year I'd say it wasn't so great. The instructor was a nice guy but we both learned maybe only one thing each (we had a lesson together) so we felt this was a bit of a waste of money. I think perhaps they are more used to teaching beginners / early intermediates and I was disappointed as I could have done with help to progress more.
We also did some cross country skiing. We have done a reasonable amount of this before and I must say, the trails were awesome. There are over 300km of them, beautifully pisted, plenty lovely log huts with fire pits to stop at, well marked and some are flood lit. The trails are just amazing, it's like being on rails. We hired our skinny ski's and comfy boots (Madshus) and the quality was excellent. My only regret is that we didn't do more. If you want to do cross country skiing I doubt you will find anywhere better, it was that good.
The remainder of the report is not about skiing so read only if bored.
Getting there
Once again we went with Inghams. This time we stayed at the Radisson Blu at Manchester airport (totally awesome and well worth it, it's in the terminal, I blagged a free upgrade, we got smashed in the free bar, yes, free bar, and had a very drunken/hungover stand on the moving walkway into the terminal at 0500, you barely have to walk, thank god). Flights were with Jet2 and I'm not going to lie, they were a disaster. On the way out we had a medical emergency (absolutely not their fault and handled very well) which resulted in a diversion to Oulu. It transpires this was a 25 minute flight away from Ylläs or a 7 hour drive and given the seriousness for the passenger there was no option. I was disgusted by the rubber necking passengers, one of which had the gall to walk down the aisle for a right nosy. I hope the poor lady was ok. So, we got going again after they faffed about for ages and 'dumped it' 3hrs late into Kittilä. We arrived in Ylläsjärvi to the final 15 mins of a total bluebird and much cursing about the fact that had we been on time we could have been skiing. Really selfish I know, sorry, but after the poor viz last year we couldn't help but think this. On the way home the aircraft which had flown in developed hydraulic problems and they had to fly another aircraft out to rescue us. I was very impressed at the speed Jet2 did this and we got a free lunch at Kittilä airport. We landed at Manchester 4 hours late which was pretty good going considering. What was unacceptable is that it took over an hour for the bags to come off . We then had a 7 hour drive home starting at 8pm (which was actually 10pm to our body clocks). Thankfully I have this bizarre ability to cope with no sleep and drove from Gretna feeling fine  with husband sleeping.
If I were to go back I would go DIY, fly from Aberdeen via Heathrow or Frankfurt to Helsinki and up to Kittilä. Scheduled flights all the way with not too long a drive.
Staying there
We stayed at the newly taken over Lapland Hotel Saaga. It was great and other than a few small issues I would recommend it. It was ski in / out, the food was good (better than last year), nice rooms and nice facilities. A word of warning, if you are going DIY the closest supermarket is 45 mins away by foot. I would, if you choose that option, hire a car for the week from Kittilä which is about £250 through holiday autos etc. Kolari is good to go to for a supermarket, Alko (ie off licence, same prices as the UK) and an excellent souvenir shop with beautiful wooden items. It will also give you the opportunity to explore the area which is stunning. You can also hire a car for the day from Ylläs Express for about £90 which includes delivery of the car and they are great to deal with but don't expect a brand new car.
In summary the skiing is very limited but the snow was fantastic, there were no queues and the area is beautiful. The cross country skiing is superb and the people very friendly. The atmosphere in the bars is great and there are some brilliant gear shops.
Some pictures.
View from the hotel room
View from the Gondola
View down one of the runs under the Gondola
This is why I love it here. The slopes are empty and it's just stunning.
The cross country ski trails. Totally awesome.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Lovely photos. Is over an hour bad for bags at Manchester dter then? It seems par for the course at Gatwick
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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?
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Well the belt next to us had bags less than 20 mins after that flight landed (also jet2) so I'd hope not.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@suzysparkle, Glad you enjoyed it, we like it there too. We are going in a month for our second time. We are staying in Akaslompolo again, in the Logs cabins. Very Nice and would recommend. We like Åre a lot too, been there 4 times, but now no bigger TO's go, it's a bit pricey, even DIY, but we are thinking of doing it next year.
The hotel in Akaslompolo has dances 2 or three times a week, with a band playing everything from waltzes to the police, and people do waltz. It's excellent fun, but you mustn't be jealous if your partner gets asked to dance, As mrsthecramps said, it's rather nice that someone thinks you look good enough to ask for a dance. We had a ball (no pun intended). We also had a great night in a bar (maybe "the" bar) when it quickly filled with hockey fans in to watch an important game on the TV followed by Karaoke. Raucous, but all good natured and great fun
You are right about the skiing too, quiet pistes, no lift queues and the xcountry is excellent.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@the cramps, We did Åre DIY. Flew from Aberdeen via Frankfurt and Stockholm to Östersund. I got a great deal on the flights with Lufthansa (via Expedia) and although 2 out of the 3 flights were with SAS we got the Lufthansa baggage allowance which meant free ski carriage. We got away with downhill and cross country ski's each plus boots and normal bags all for free . We actually stayed in Östersund the whole time and had a hire car. It was a pain driving (about an hour each way) but much cheaper to stay there. Eating out we found that the various people set up with wok's who looked rather dodgy actually provided amazing food at a good price. We did cross country in Östersund. Have a great time in Akaslompolo. The log cabins looked great but there are only 2 of us so it worked out quite a bit dearer. I'd love to see an ice hockey game. I'm sure it must be all about the fights!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@suzysparkle, We did pretty well with inghams for our log cabin. We went for the slightly bigger one with a bedroom, type two. There was a decent discount so came in at £940 all in with ski carriage. While you have to get the bus up to the slopes, it's never busy and is only 5-10 mins. Xcountry is ski in/ ski out.
We worked out we could have done Åre, flying to Trondheim with Norwegian, ski bus transfer, and an apartment from Skistar, with passes for £1550 all in. We will try harder next year though. If your planning Åre again next year and find a good deal that needs two more to make it work, let us know
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@suzysparkle, oh, and that's £940 and £1550 for us both, not each.
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Awesome report and pictures thanks. I'm in Finland at the moment where skiing has been brilliant and I fancy trying Sweden next year. These countries are definitely worth a look for people who fancy a change from the more usual European countries.
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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.
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@bambionskiis, +1
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£940 for you both to Akaslompolo?? OMG! That's a lot less than we paid for Inghams? Maybe the time of year? We were ripped off!!
Will do re Åre. I booked well in advance and via expedia got the flights (all 3 of them and including the skis), hotel including massive breakfast and a weeks car hire for just under £1000 (for both of us). We had a very economical (brand new) diesel golf which we only refilled once (about £60). We did 4 days at Åre and 3 days in Östersund with plenty XC skiing there. I don't recall the lift passes being expensive.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@suzysparkle, Passes aren't that bad your right. You did well in getting it for £1000. We fancy trying Trysill too, we could have done that for £1400 with car hire flying to Oslo, to a two bedroom self catered chalet. (chalet is a bit wrong, but it looked cozy and charming). We would definitely be interested in sharing to keep costs sensible on a trip to Åre, if you didn't mind sharing accom with two in our 40's.
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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.
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We would be really happy with that, sounds great. Lots going on this year with work etc so impossible for us to plan anything in advance but I will keep this in mind
Glad to hear other people like Scandinavia. If we won the lottery we would move there immediately. We have Siberian Huskies as well which we race but could do so much more with them over there.
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@suzysparkle, mrsthecramps did a 9 day huskie trip in northern Sweden a few years back, she loved it. I couldn't go, I was working in Norway. If we win the lotto we would do the same. As for forward planning we are the same, but tend to do two winter hols (we don't really do summer hols) in jan-ish and march. We avoid school hols.
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You know it makes sense.
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@suzysparkle, Thanks - Great trip report and very helpful as we are off to Yllas for the first time in a couple of weeks. Travelling with Inghams from Gatwick.
If you like Scandinavian type skiing you might like to look at Beitostølen in Norway if you want somewhere different. We have been there twice and would happily go back again. I did a short report on here somewhere and would be happy to answer any questions. We went with Crystal from Gatwick at a very reasonable price (£620 pp half board including lift passes in a very nice hotel just across the car park from the lifts and trails.) Two of our party travelled from the North of Scotland and so I looked into DIY. It looked very do-able to fly Aberdeen to Oslo, and then either fly to Fagernes (which is 40k from Beitostølen) or alternatively bus or drive from Oslo (about 3.5 hours). They opted to fly down to London early, and booked into a cheap airport hotel so they could do some things there before catching the charter, so I can't say how DIY would work in practice. Driving to and from Manchester for your flights sounds grim.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Thank you SuzySparkle, this is immensely helpful. I am an adrenalin junkie, so I think these well manicured, gentle, flat & even slopes might not suit me. I'm looking for some excitement. I want to ski on the edge of my ability (which is not very high), having to keep on my toes every moment. Thanks for your time x
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FAQ
