Pictures: Lyle Such
Camera: Canon 5d Mkiii
For the third leg of our Scandinavian trip, we decided that Finland might be a fun place to visit. We hired a car to pick us up in Kirkenes at the Snow Hotel, and drove 5 hours through the unspoiled snowy wilderness. From time to time herds of reindeer would run in front of the car and we would have to slow to match their pace until they decided to let us through.
With little light left, we arrived in Saariselkä where we would be staying at the igloo hotels. Once we checked in at the main building, we grabbed a sled and portered our luggage down the road to our igloo.
The glass igloos are cozy little rooms, each with it's own bathroom but no showers. Our hopes for seeing the Northern Lights were diminishing as the cloud cover just kept thickening.
The grounds of the igloo hotels are worth a day of exploring. They have reindeer stables and lots and lots of dogs, which you can hear from a long way away.
We didn't have plans for that evening, so we asked at reception if they had any aurora chasing tours. The woman suggested something we hadn't really considered, a ride in a snow tank. We talked it over, and decided that since the chances of spotting the Northern Lights were so slim, it might be fun to do something out of the ordinary. It payed off to take the chance.
Our guide arrived in his custom 4x4, very similar to the "Super Jeeps" of Iceland. He sped us off through the dark and snowy streets to where he kept his snow tank. We were noticing that the drivers, especially in Finland, are very capable and confident in the snow. Unlike the States, they're trained from an early age to handle tough driving conditions, and it shows when you're out on the road with them.
We plowed through the snow, several feet deep at times, and made our way to the top of the local mountain. The snow tank, as expected, was loud, intrusive, and scared away all of the wildlife, but such a unique experience that it was all worth it. When we reached the top of the mountain, we shut it down and explored the surreal landscape. Lights from a distant town were casting an eerie light on the low clouds, and the trees were covered with frosting like snow and formed some scarily human like shapes.
On our descent, we came across a small cabin, where we stopped and were treated to a surprise.
Cooking up some more reindeer sausages and hot chocolate. Our guide had blackened hands from handling fire, and was super skilled and capable with a knife. We sat and talked and learned a great deal about life in Finland.
The next morning we wandered the grounds for a little while, then headed for the bus stop. The ride from the igloo hotels to Rovaniemi was another beautiful snowy drive which took about 5 hours.
One of the most anticipated parts of our trip was to Korouma Canyon to go ice climbing on a frozen waterfall. We've done a little rock climbing and have been ice climbing on a glacier in Iceland, but this was something totally new and unique, and came at the perfect time in our trip when we needed a little more physical activity.
Our guide Art led us on a hike through the canyon. Along the way he explained many of the details of the forest, along with some folklore and personal stories that illustrated how deeply the Finnish people are connected with nature and the world around them.
We opted for a newly opened trail, which afforded us views across the valley and gave a preview of what we would soon be climbing.
We were amazed by and fell in love with the solitude within this park. Being from California, we are so accustomed to being surrounded by people, even in nature it's sometimes hard to escape the crowds. In Korouoma Canyon, we didn't come across anyone until we reached the waterfall, and they left shortly after we arrived.
We reached the ice wall, had a bit to eat and some hot berry juice, then geared up and got ready for the climb.
Art climbed first and anchored our lines. The only people we saw in the park left before we started, so we had full access to the waterfall and could choose any route up.
The ice fall that we climbed is called Charlie Brown. During the summer it isn't exactly a waterfall, but more of a slow trickle of water that slowly builds up as it turns to ice.
Thu's first climb of the day.
It took me a little bit longer than Thu to get comfortable with the ice climbing technique that I had learned in Iceland. It only resulted in one small fall, and by my third climb I was finally feeling at home on the ice.
Art did a great job of coaching us up the ice falls. We kept the same line, but approached from different angles which gave us a variety in difficulty.
The view from the top was spectacular. It was one of those moments that could never be captured in camera, but at least I tried!
I could hear the constant trickle of water flowing underneath the falls. It was a constant reminder that we were climbing on a continually changing piece of the landscape.
We left Art to take down the anchors and wandered through the forest for a little while before he caught up.
The sun went down and we hiked up through the canyon for another 45 minutes. It turned out to be a perfect day, and easily the best one of our Scandinavian trip.
