 Poster: A snowHead
|
HI there, just popping my snowheads cherry here!
4 of us have booked to go to Ruka in April over the easter holidays in 2009. There arnt mant recent posts on here about the place, id like as much info as possible really!
Like i said there are 4 of us 25-34 years old, looking to have some fun! My wife is learning to board this year so i was wondering what the instruction is like out there, the other 3 of us are having some intermediate lessons on skis for 3 days. 2 of us have picked up some snow blades so im looking forward to trying that for the first time! (any tips?)
we're staying in MastonAitio cabins, so if anyone has stayed in or near there, how were they?
Whats the nightlife like in Ruka? we're looking to party pretty hard til the early hours!
Thanks in advance for any replys!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
atatreedy, The only tip I have is regards the snow blades, use them as fire wood.
As for the rest i'm sure a knowledgable person will be along soon!
welcome btw 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
whats with all the hating of ski boards on this forum anyway? surely aslong as people are enjoying themselves on the piste what does it matter what they're using? i seem to remember there was a rather hostile reception towards snowboards some time ago! they're pretty much part and parcel of the piste now! i just like to keep my eyes open when it comes to new experiences thats all...
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Sage: y-thanks for the info! wow, that photos good too, hope we've got that much snow in april! it looks great, how big (how long did it take to ski) was the longest run if they are short? that view is amazing! ive read there is a lot of development going on there at the mo' to make the town resort larger and with more shops/bars etc.. where there any bars there when you went? sorry for all the questions.. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
atatreedy, No probs about the questions, first some facts from the Rukka Website
| Quote: |
-29 groomed runs, biggest vertical 201 m and longest run 1300 m
-groomed runs altogether 20 km: 40 % blue/beginner, 34 % red/intermediate and 26 % black/advanced
-effective snow making on all runs, 24 illuminated runs
-19 lifts (5 chairs) with the hourly capacity of 23.600
-FIS rated Vuosseli Super Pipe, 2 SnowBoard Streets, Boarder Cross course and a moguls run, Battery Run, suitable for international competitions (length 225 m, vertical 106 m, steepness 52 % i.e 29 degrees)
-377.000 skiing days, appr. 130.000 ski passes sold during the season 2006-2007
-2 rental shops: 800 sets of equipment, 4000 pieces
-6 groomers and 50 snow guns: snow making capacity of 1250 cubic meters of snow per hour
-the biggest and oldest ski school in Finland, Ski School Ruka, 180 instructors (mostly part-time)
-the longest ski season in Finland: mid-October to mid-May (appr. 200 days) |
For a decent standard of skier it would be quite possible to ski the whole resort in one day.
There are probably a lot more facilities now than when I was there. In the centre there was the hotel, a grocers, an outdoor shop, ski hire shop and a few restaurants/bars. The outdoor activity office was also there.
Don't just go there to ski/board make sure you do other activities - we went on an snowmobile tour into the forest at night and sat round a campfire watching the Northern Lights overhead, it was fantastic.
Rukka is in beautiful, remote setting, when you are at the top of the hill and look around there is just nothing but forest and lakes as far as you can see. If you look East you will be looking into Russia.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sage (or any other who can answer this):
How do I post a photo on here?!
Cheers!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
mountainaddict,
This is from the FAQ:
| Quote: |
Can I post Images?
Images can indeed be shown in your posts. However, there is no facility at present for uploading images directly to this board. Therefore you must link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server, e.g. http://www.some-unknown-place.net/my-picture.gif. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor to images stored behind authentication mechanisms such as Hotmail or Yahoo mailboxes, password-protected sites, etc. To display the image use either the BBCode [img] tag or appropriate HTML (if allowed). |
You can store photos in the snowmediazone which will give you the BB code to post. Another way is if you preview your post you will see an image (Img) button above your draft post which will do the BB code bit for you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sage- you've been a godsend, thank you so much. I'll let you know what its like when we get back. thanks again!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Sage, it looked feckin freezing... is it as cold as it looks?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
I've been there many times and going next week to spend X-mas there!
If you go in April you can be sure that there's plenty of snow. Natural snow cover that time is normally something between 60-90cm. Ruka is a great place to learn boarding, I've done it there too! You can find easy slopes where to start but there are also lot of pipes and parks for more skilled boarders. Also the Finnish professional snowboarders train and come to have fun there! The weather in April is usually good. During daytime the temperature can vary from -5 to +5C (sunny days).
April and especially Easter-holidays are the very high season in Ruka. That time people come there to have fun and party so I think you will find good night life there too! Your accommodation at MastonAitio is in a beautiful place with great scenery as the cabins are on the slopes. You find your cabins in the slope map at the Masto region. The nightlife is focused in the Ruka Village which is on the opposite side of the hill, but it's easy to reach by taxi. Also in Vuosseli there are few bars to party! Check: http://www.ruka.fi/slopemap/
Have fun in Ruka!!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
Moi Gubba! Miten menee?
What can you tell me about Pyhä in Lapland? - http://www.laplandpyha.fi/winter/
I'm planning on going to Pyhä in Feb with my friends from Helsinki. A 12 hour car journey....perkele! It should be cold with lots of snow, but how good is the alpine skiing in Pyhä? I know you can cross country ski and try lots of other things like dog sledding, snowmobiles, etc
I tried cross country skiing this year in Himos - it was difficult. But the crazy English guy made the local Finnish people laugh with his cross country 'skills'...........I don't think I am ready to race Virpi Kuitunen quite yet 
Kiitos!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
| Gubba wrote: |
I've been there many times and going next week to spend X-mas there!
If you go in April you can be sure that there's plenty of snow. Natural snow cover that time is normally something between 60-90cm. Ruka is a great place to learn boarding, I've done it there too! You can find easy slopes where to start but there are also lot of pipes and parks for more skilled boarders. Also the Finnish professional snowboarders train and come to have fun there! The weather in April is usually good. During daytime the temperature can vary from -5 to +5C (sunny days).
April and especially Easter-holidays are the very high season in Ruka. That time people come there to have fun and party so I think you will find good night life there too! Your accommodation at MastonAitio is in a beautiful place with great scenery as the cabins are on the slopes. You find your cabins in the slope map at the Masto region. The nightlife is focused in the Ruka Village which is on the opposite side of the hill, but it's easy to reach by taxi. Also in Vuosseli there are few bars to party! Check: http://www.ruka.fi/slopemap/
Have fun in Ruka!!! |
Thank you very much Gubba, thats a really nice description, and lots of nice information too. I really cant wait to go now, only 4 months to go!! hope you have a great Xmas there too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
I haven't been to Ruka but I was in Levi for a few days in 2006. Had some snowboarding lessons there and the instruction was fine. That I didn't make more progress was more down to my nerves than the instructor's abilities. We also had an afternoon's on snowmobiles which was exciting and fun!
| mountainaddict wrote: |
How do I post a photo on here?!
|
There is a sticky thread in the 'Aprés Zone' explaining step by step how to add photos. And it works - I've just managed to post my first photo 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| Gubba wrote: |
| Sleipnir wrote: |
Moi Gubba! Miten menee?
What can you tell me about Pyhä in Lapland? - http://www.laplandpyha.fi/winter/
I'm planning on going to Pyhä in Feb with my friends from Helsinki. A 12 hour car journey....perkele! It should be cold with lots of snow, but how good is the alpine skiing in Pyhä? I know you can cross country ski and try lots of other things like dog sledding, snowmobiles, etc
I tried cross country skiing this year in Himos - it was difficult. But the crazy English guy made the local Finnish people laugh with his cross country 'skills'...........I don't think I am ready to race Virpi Kuitunen quite yet
Kiitos! |
Moi moi! Hyvin menee, kiitos!
I've been to Pyhä two times. Once during autumn to do some hiking (it's great place for that) and once in Feb about eight years ago. I have to admit that I didn't manage to ski that time I was partying there with my friends and we were just drinking all the time
But, I can say that Pyhä is quite similar with Ruka for alpine skiing, althought it's colder and more windy place and the lifts are not as good and fast as in Ruka. Pyhä is smaller resort than Ruka or Levi, and it means that there's not that much traffic.. It's a good place for lazy winter chill! Considering the time of year you are going there, I suggest to wear extremely warm clothes! Of course it depends.. Sometimes it can be just minus few degrees, but prepare also for a possible -30C 
Cross country skiing is always nice!! It's not so difficult |
Kiitos Gubba!
It sounds like Phyä is a good resort to visit - I want to go to Lapland/North Finland. Ok, there is Ruka, Levi and Yllas too - I was told that Levi is more of a 'party town' than the others. A Finnish work colleague said that if you do not want to travel to Lapland, Tahko/Nilsiä (www.tahko.com) is a good resort to look at too. She said that it was the best one in the South of Finland and it is not many kilometers from Tampere, where Ryanair and may be other cheap airlines (?) fly too. I skied in Himos in February and it was so so
Cross country skiing is "not so difficult"…..hmmm, but as kids you start this type of skiing very young. In the winter time at school in the UK we play football, rugby, hockey and run cross country (boy did I hate that!) but in Finland my friend said that you cross country ski - how good is that! I know what I would be happier doing
It could be -30C in Lapland in February……….that's not so cold - Perkele!!! It was -25C when I was in Sweden one year and it is an 'interesting' feeling to be so cold. It is something we just do not experience living in a 'warm' UK
Moi moi!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
It's about 350km from Tampere to Tahko. Never been there, but definately a place worth of visiting!
I'm packing my car now to start a 750km journey to Ruka. -20C waiting there, ah, cool & fresh 
Merry Xmas to everyone!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
how was xmas in ruka Gubba? a little over 3 months 'til we go now, really cant wait!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
