All about snowboarding, skiing and Finnish ski resorts

The selection of the Ski Resort of the Year, Local Resort of the Year and the Ski School of the Year crowned the amazing ski season 2017–2018. The winners were announced 25 April 2018 at Finnish Ski Area Association’s spring meeting at Pyhä.

Since water freezes at 0 °C and the Earth circles the sun on an axis, there is always snow on both poles and alternately on each hemisphere near the poles.

What season do you think of when you imagine skiing? Surely it’s winter, but you might be surprised to know that in Finland, you can in fact ski in the spring, summer and autumn as well.

Skiing and cities don’t usually habit a mutual space in peoples’ minds, but Finland actually has more urban ski resorts than you might think.

Finnish Lapland is a mythical, exotic land that conjures up visions of reindeer, native herders and northern lights. Well, it is all true – but you might not realise how easy it actually is to reach Lapland and enjoy a fantastic holiday with your whole family.

While there are no glaciers in Finland, the country still boasts an incredibly long ski season, stretching past 200 days a year.

New flights to Rovaniemi, Kittilä and Ivalo bring in international tourists from airports around Europe, including London, Zurich and Paris. It might surprise you, but reaching the Alps can take longer than getting to Lapland, where the magic of snow, skiing and the Northern Lights await you.

Winter can be tough to love for some people, and in many parts of the world, it’s hard to fault them. Rain and damp cold are something we humans tend to naturally avoid at all costs. But when the temperature drops enough, you no longer have to worry about getting wet, and that changes everything.

Skiing in Finland has all the hallmarks of downhill sports everywhere – speed, excitement and joy – but it is also a moment in nature.

Imagine the quintessential Christmas you’ve grown to love. Do you think of family dinners on Christmas Day, novelty sweaters or stockings hanging by the fireplace? None of that is part of Finnish Christmas traditions. What’s it like then?

Snowboarder Antti Autti has toured the world on two different careers: first as a historically successful freestyle competitor, then as a freerider in search of the best natural terrain.

There are over one hundred ski resorts in Finland. That’s quite a high number for a country that has no mountains. Instead of mountains, there are a great deal of hills, which are covered with snow for about 200 days a year.