Skiing: Skiing on first-snow pistes costs up to tens of thousands per day

Casserole

First snow slope Vuokatti in Sotkamon is bustling with life on a weekday morning in October. Students of the Vuokatti-Ruka sports academy and national team athletes sauntered across the track.

The spectrum of nationalities is comprehensive. Athletes from the biathlon teams of Italy, the Czech Republic and Lithuania bring foreign color. There are also a few Japanese people around the track.

The majority of fitness skiers enjoy the new skiing season mainly in the evenings and weekends, but there are individual enthusiasts among the competitive athletes on weekdays outside of the holiday season.

A native of Lapua Mauri Alakoskela is one of them. He says that skiing on Vuokatti’s first snow slope is a ten-year tradition.

“We now have a team of two men, and we ski many days in the morning and in the evening,” Alakoskela says.

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“This snow-covered five-kilometer route is in absolutely excellent condition.”

Casserole is one of the most expensive cross-country skiing destinations in the country, considering the track fees. An adult’s day ticket to the first snow trail costs 29 euros this year.

“Ours is of retirement age, so I get half price. It’s a reasonable price, but the normal ticket price is of course already quite high,” Alakoskela estimates.

“But considering the conditions and the condition of the track, it’s not a bad price in the end. This snow-covered five-kilometer route is in absolutely excellent condition,” he praises.

Event director of Vuokatti Sport Ann-Mary Ähtävä says that there have been no price complaints among the customer feedback this fall. It was different a few years ago.

“When we raised the price to twenty and 24 euros three or four years ago, it was a little shocking when it went up from 15 euros per day,” Ähtävä adds.

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“When we raised the price three or four years ago to twenty and twenty-four euros, it was a little shocking.”

Alakoskela says that he has noticed an increase in costs, but is happy to pay.

“If you compare it to skiing, for example, no one can get to those slopes for free when the conditions are put in order,” he compares.

The price difference of track fees on first snow tracks is large. For example, in Levi in ​​Kittilä and Ruka in Kuusamo, siva is provided free of charge.

At the other extreme is Muonio Olos, where a day ticket for adults costs up to 40 euros. Those staying in a Muoni accommodation can get their ticket for 20 euros, and the season ticket for the municipal residents can be purchased for 50 euros.

Municipalities have been sold inexpensive season tickets in Vuokatti as well, and the right to ski is included in the price of accommodation for those staying at Vuokatti Sport. Commuters arriving overnight can access the track both on the day of arrival and departure.

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“If you compare it to skiing, for example, no one can get to those slopes for free either.”

Ski season has lasted almost a month in Vuokatti. Ensilumenlatu was officially opened on October 12, but Ähtävä says that the track was already opened two days earlier. Sivakointi was free of charge until the opening.

Vuokatti markets its 70,000 cubic meter “snow mountain” as the world’s largest preserved snow pile for cross-country skiing. It enables high-quality tracks from mid-October.

“Yes, even this morning it was ten plus the condition of the track. The tracks are laid in the morning, and when everyone goes to eat, the track is run again and in the afternoon it’s really good,” praises Alakoskela.

According to Ähtäva, the tracks are currently being run almost twice a day according to a precisely planned time. The trackmen’s decision is influenced, for example, by wind and precipitation.

“When the bottom of the track is so wet, it easily slips into the ice if you rush there at the wrong time. Or it gets moldy if it’s freezing. It’s no coincidence that it’s in good condition,” he says.

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“It’s no coincidence that it’s in good shape.”

Warm autumn has teased skiers all over the country. For example, the Tahkovuori track in Kuopio Nilsiä has had to be closed for the time being, when the track cannot be renovated due to the thinning of the skid.

In Alakoskela’s home region of Seinäjoki and Lapua, piles of cannon snow are still waiting to be spread. He hopes to be able to continue skiing on the cannon track in Ostrobothnia soon after returning from Vuokatti.

“The Simpsiö track in Lapua was absolutely free last year. The Seinäjoki trail has been paid for, but there has been a formal fee. As I remember, the family ticket is 40 euros, and with it I got four season tickets.”

Alakoskela says that he used to hang out at Jouppilanvuori in Seinäjoki as a season ticket holder. The track fees have gone to the benefit of the Seinäjoki Ski Club.

“It’s been meaningful to pay it when you know it’s going to a good cause. The money has not gone to the city’s coffers, but to the junior work of the ski club,” he says.