Ruka First timers - any tips?

A snowHead

Hi all

Heading out to Ruka next week with Crystal for the first time. Really looking forward to somewhere different and combining skiing with activities such as snowmobiling / huskys etc. I will try and add a trip report afterwards as the last one here is 2006! Does anyone have any tips for us on Ruka in general - we are a group of five who have travelled toghether skiing for the last 10 years - we like a few drinks coming off the piste but nothing crazy (we are on Half Board basis). We know drinks are a lot more expensive so anyone know of any happy hour bars. Any bars / restaurants on the mountain you would recommend also? Thanks very much for any advice.

Rob

A snowHead

@darbyrw, There is a super market in town which sold beer wine at decent prices if you want a pre drink at home... We were there in 2016 so a bit dated.... In addition to the snowmobiling there is a guided hike to a river which I enjoyed. Make sure you get a fresh donut on the hill with your coffee, by memory called a "munkee" or similar. Pretty much each run or base of lift has a little coffee stop and all worth a visit ! Check out a few snaps from the week we had there to get a feel for the vibe

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=3309210&highlight=ruka#3309210

There’s this thread.

All my photos have disappeared again as they were in the snowMedia zone but I’ll resurrect them on Imgur, if my dog lets me!

If you are staying in Ruka village, the lift to ski school (on the other side of the hill) is now a gondola. Sounds like you will be fine to get off at the top and ski blue 16 down there from the off, it’s very easy. The other lift is a fast 6 man that takes you straight to the summit. The lessons were only 90 minutes a day so I didn’t get much time away from my (then very) young children to explore but there are steeper slopes and in bounds tree skiing areas, unfortunately doesn’t look like much of this is currently open and the gondola is shut today due to high winds, according to the interactive map. The coach ride from the airport is 15-20 mins then it starts dropping people off.

https://www.ruka.fi/en/skiresort/slopes

My vague memory of the tree skiing is that area 17 was the easiest introduction to this sort of thing and the area around run 9 was great fun. The area round 11 was shut for racing while I was there but there was some off piste tree skiing on the other side of Pessari (off run 10). The front slopes (2 and 3) are reasonably steep, the longest steep run is 4.

I remember there was a hotel and fancy restaurant at the top of 1 of the peaks, I think Masto, which was a bit far for our then 5 year old. I saw it but never went in. By the bottom of lift E there was a wild meat restaurant (should you fancy bear for lunch!) The cafeteria by ski school was very busy but I’ve mentioned a local bar alternative which was much more convivial and obviously an independent place rather than linked to the ski resort. I remember there was also a restaurant at the bottom of Pessari but I didn’t use it due to the ski school timings. We either had an early lunch in Ruka, at the apartment, or near ski school. I don’t remember if there was a restaurant in the ski building (passes, hire, shop etc) but there was definitely a bar upstairs. I guess if you are there looking for lunch, the Rukahovi hotel is only across a snow-covered street and the rest of Ruka is across the square and 1 further street back.

The best bits of the holiday were the husky driving and snow mobiling. Both absolutely fantastic. We went for a middle length husky ride from a nearby farm (got transported there from the square) and it was so good we would all have been happy to do more. Probably helped that the weather that day was incredible.

Obviously 2017 prices, but drinks weren’t that bad, I’m sure 500ml draught beer was €6 back then, similar to France. Beer in supermarket was slightly more than in the U.K. Wine in the offy (handily directly opposite supermarket exit in the same building) was slightly more again but in the restaurants it was ferociously expensive, started at about €40 for a basic bottle of red or white.

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I edited my TR from that thread. Rather than a sit down lunch, the popular cheap option is to buy a few sausages from the supermarket and cook them at 1 of the many Tipis (denoted by the fire symbol on the piste map). I think you have to bring your own skewers and definitely BYO drinks.

Nice day for a husky drive

Reindeer sledding is a lot slower. We did it in the middle of the snowmobile trip. There’s a cafe in the woods nearish Ruka that is busy with cross country skiers and does short reindeer and husky trips. We were very glad we went on the all morning trip visiting the Husky farm and then a decent drive.

Snowmobiling is fast and slightly mad, especially with a small child on the back. It was cracking fun. Bring your driving license for this.

Ruka in the late afternoon. All the floodlights go on up the hill. This face is about the steepest in the area. Those are the reds off the chairlift (which I think has been upgraded to a detachable). There was a chairlift just out of shot on the left which has been upgraded to a gondola. The building on the right is the big red gift shop/cafe. The red light to the left is (I think) ski hire/lift passes. Rukahovi hotel would be the next building left IIRC. My kids are sledging across the road (that’s how busy it is).

Ruka’s main sledging zone in the evening. The big building with the cloud shape is the Rukahovi hotel. The lower building with white roof in front is the ski office/hire etc.

This is what the slopes look like, very different scenery to the Alps or Scotland. This is a quiet blue run as it’s served by a button tow (I think it’s run 32).

We got ski hire/passes/lessons for the children through Crystal as it was much cheaper. The adults hired skis too as it was simpler or cheaper (can’t remember which). Lessons are over the hill but the new gondola takes you straight there. It’s a very easy blue down if you get off at the top of the hill. Group lessons were 90 mins. Our children’s were in the afternoon which sounds rubbish but worked out better. Quite a few of the off slope activities are in the morning so we could do them, get a quick lunch in the apartment then whizz over for ski school and get in a quick bit of skiing.

Ski school meeting is outside a restaurant called ‘Bistro’ and was carnage. Trying to eat/get hot chocolate there before or after lessons was crazy busy so we went elsewhere. There’s a pub under a block of flats on the other side of the beginner slopes that was much more civilized.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thank you all for this - appreciate it. Really looking forward to Ruka

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@darbyrw, no worries. We missed out on seeing the northern lights as it snowed most nights! Saw -16c one morning and one afternoon peaked at -10c. No sweating, that was for sure.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Absolutely loved our trip there, very special.
It was very cold on some days (-27) and we made good use of warming places!

The most amazing outing was a snowshoe hike at a national park, it was only -6 at that point & we were all a bit warm snowHead

it was just beautiful, would go back without hesitation Very Happy

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Ruka First timers - any tips?

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