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Types of Skiing Explained: Alpine, Nordic, Touring & SkateTrip Guide
Ready for a winter expedition that’ll test everything you’ve got? Then we’ve got the trip for you: Seven days of backcountry cross-country skiing through Lemmenjoki National Park – one of Europe’s most remote wilderness areas – awaits.
You’ll ski up to 17km a day pulling a fully loaded sled, sleep in off-grid wilderness cabins, and live simply with no electricity or running water. It’s full expedition life and the kind of challenge that shows you what you’re capable of.
Lemmenjoki National Park sits on Finland’s border with Norway. It has over 2,850 square kilometres of old-growth boreal forest and no permanent human habitation. This makes the journey part of the adventure as you travel from Helsinki through Finland’s changing landscapes.
Most people fly from the UK to Ivalo via Helsinki in one day, although Helsinki definitely deserves extra time to explore too if you’ve got any flexibility in your travel dates. The key is matching your flights with our fixed transfer times. We pick up at Ivalo Airport on the evening of the first day and can’t wait for delayed flights.
Finnair operates direct routes from London Heathrow to Ivalo airport via Helsinki. Many UK airports fly to Helsinki, it’s just a case of lining these up to get the connection to Ivalo.
Yes, but we don’t recommend it. Limited availability and the difficulty of reaching these areas make it expensive, expect to pay £200 or more for private transfers from Ivalo to our wilderness base. It is why we recommend aligning with the group transfers. Train connections to Lapland take 12+ hours, so internal flights are more practical.
Helsinki is definitely one to explore, so feel free to book flights with longer layovers or add nights before/after the expedition.
Winter wilderness expeditions require specific coverage, so please verify your policy covers it, as well as cross-country skiing and wilderness camping. Also make sure you’ve got comprehensive cover for missed connections, delayed flights, medical evacuation and all the usual bits.
Let’s be honest, this trip is tough. You’ll haul a 20 to 25kg sled while skiing 10 to 17km daily in subzero temperatures through trackless wilderness. If that sounds like hell, please choose something easier. If it sounds like an adventure, you’re in the right place. You don’t need skiing experience to come, but you do need endurance, and more of it than any of our other winter trips ask for.
You’ll cover 10 to 17km a day on skis, hauling a sled loaded with 20 to 25kg of your own kit and food, across trackless wilderness in subzero temperatures. There’s no groomed track to follow and nothing to take the sting out of the climbs, so your pace is set by the snow underfoot and the weight behind you. Four nights are off-grid: no electricity, no running water, shared sleeping space on wooden bunks, expedition food, washing with melted snow and outdoor toilets.
Everything takes longer out here. Getting dressed, eating and packing the sled all happen in mittens, and it’s that friction rather than the skiing that catches people out. Privacy is close to non-existent for the whole expedition, so give some thought to whether a week of that suits you. And once you’re on the trail you’re committed. There’s no road, no transfer back and no sitting a day out.
If you’re already training consistently and used to long days out, you don’t need to overhaul anything. Keep the cardio going, and add some longer weekend days carrying weight so your body knows what a full day out feels like. Dragging a tyre on a rope is the closest thing at home to hauling a sled, and it’s worth doing a handful of times before you travel.
If you’re active but not training consistently, give yourself around three months. Steady-state cardio three times a week for 45 minutes to an hour, one longer hike or run at the weekend, and leg and core strength around it. Six to eight weeks will build your aerobic fitness, but tendons, ligaments and joints adapt far more slowly than your heart and lungs do, and they’re what take the pounding on repeated loaded days. Three months lets you add the volume gradually, and absorbs the week you lose to a cold or a busy patch at work. A fortnight of cramming won’t get you there.
Starting from a low base, you need six months and a gradual ramp, because going from very little to this volume in a hurry is how people get injured before they’ve even packed. We’re a travel company, not fitness professionals, so if you’re building from scratch, get a coach or trainer to structure it for you.
Beginner here means the skiing. You don’t need any cross-country or backcountry experience. It does not mean you can turn up unprepared. You get one day to learn the technique, and from then on you’re using it loaded, day after day, while also thinking about your layers, your sled and where you’re putting your feet.
So think about how you pick things up. If you tend to get the hang of a new sport quickly, you’ll be fine. If you know you need longer with something before it clicks, this isn’t the trip to learn on. Two things worth testing on yourself: whether you’re comfortable with the sensation of gliding and sliding underfoot, and whether you’re comfortable falling over, because you will, and getting back up with a sled attached is part of it.
If either of those gives you pause, or your fitness isn’t where it needs to be yet, start with our Sweden Backcountry Ski Trip or one of our beginner cross-country skiing trips. These will get you here in a state to enjoy it rather than spend the week catching up.
What helps more than ski experience is multi-day hiking with weight on your back. Women who’ve done hut-to-hut hiking, bikepacking or packrafting tend to settle into this quickly.
Then there’s the mental side. You’ll be cold, tired and a long way from a hot shower with kilometres still to cover, and no amount of fitness gets you through that bit. Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is as much a part of the preparation as the training.
Fit enough to ski 10 to 17km a day hauling 20 to 25kg, on consecutive days, in the cold. If you already train several times a week and are used to long days out, you’re in the right place. If you’re active but not consistent, you’ll need around three months of build-up. From a low base, six months.
Build the aerobic base first, then add weight to your long days. How long you need depends on where you’re starting from, and the Fitness section above breaks that down into three starting points with a training week for each.
No. Beginner here means you don’t need any cross-country or backcountry experience. You get one day to learn the technique before you’re using it loaded and out in the wilderness, so it suits women who pick up new sports quickly and are comfortable with the sensation of sliding and with falling over. If you’d rather arrive with the technique already in your legs, start with our Sweden backcountry ski trip or our beginner cross-country skiing trip.
There’s no opt-out. Once you’re on the trail there’s no road, no transfer back and no sitting a day out. Your guides can adjust the pace and redistribute weight between sleds, but everyone has to move under their own steam every day. That’s why we’re strict about the fitness before you book.
Think about the last time you did something physically hard for several days in a row, and how you felt on day four. If the answer is that you got stronger and enjoyed it, this will suit you. If the answer is that you were counting down to a hot shower, one of our other winter trips will give you a better week.
Very little. You’ll sleep in shared space on wooden bunks for four nights, with the same room used for eating, drying kit and everything else. Washing is with melted snow and the toilets are outdoors. It’s worth thinking honestly about whether a week of that appeals before you book.
Wake up around 7am, breakfast by 8am, pack sleds, ski 5-7 hours with breaks and time for lunch, arrive at evening accommodation by 4-5pm. Evenings involve wood fires, melting snow, dinner, and early nights.
This is wilderness expedition living. You start and finish in a comfortable log cabin with electricity, a restaurant, a sauna and hot showers. Everything in between is off-grid.
The wilderness cabins are genuinely rustic, and it’s worth being clear about what that means. No electricity, no running water: light comes from candles and heat from a wood fire you’ll help keep going. You’ll sleep on wooden bunks with a thin mattress, or on the sleeping pad you’ve hauled in on your sled, and the bunks sit close together in a single room. That same room is where you eat, dry your kit and spend the evening, so there’s no separate living space to retreat to and not a lot of floor to spread out on. Toilets are shared outhouses and washing means snow melted by the heat of the sauna. It’s basic and you’ll be in close quarters with the group, but it’s the only way to reach these locations.
Dinner on the first and last night is in the restaurant. Everything in between is expedition food: packets of dehydrated meals that need nothing more than boiling water. Not gourmet, but it fuels long days in extreme cold, and it’s small and light enough to pack onto a sled you’re pulling yourself. Your drinking water comes from melted snow.
Bring energy bars, nuts and dried fruit for extra fuel while you’re skiing, and pick things that won’t freeze solid in minus temperatures.
We’re talking rustic mountain huts with wooden bunks, wood-burning stoves, and candlelight. You’ll share sleeping spaces, help maintain fires, chip in to make dinner and melt snow to wash with.
We accommodate most dietary needs with advance notice at booking. Most expedition meals have vegetarian, vegan, nut-free and gluten-free options. We always recommend packing backup snacks you know work for you too.
None during the wilderness section, but you’re not going to need it. Disconnect completely and embrace it. The arrival/departure cabin has limited WiFi, but don’t expect Instagram-worthy connectivity. Save uploading your photos and making your friends jealous for when you get back.
You’ll be sharing outhouses with the rest of the group, and they’re a short ski from the hut, so it’s worth clipping in rather than wading through snow in your boots. They aren’t heated either, so quick business is recommended. Washing happens with melted snow that’s been heated by the sauna when available. Pack biodegradable soap if cleanliness really matters to you.
No laundry facilities exist and very quickly you probably won’t care about smelly clothes. Bring enough base layers for 7 days or pack travel wash for hand-washing, although drying overnight in cold conditions will be a huge challenge.
February and March in Lapland mean serious cold — typically -5°C to -20°C, occasionally dropping to -30°C, or surprisingly, rising above zero. Finnish “dry” cold feels less harsh than the “damp cold (like we have in the UK).
The weather changes rapidly in wilderness areas. You might see brilliant sunshine, blowing snow, and clear starry skies within 24 hours. Our experienced guides monitor conditions constantly and adjust routes for safety and to make the most of the conditions.
Your eyelashes will freeze (and so will your water bottles if they’re not properly insulated), but you’ll witness landscapes most people never see.
Daylight Hours: February: Around 8 hours of daylight, March: 10+ hours. Most skiing happens during daylight with headlamps for evening camp setup if needed.
Our guides have backup plans for severe conditions: shorter distances, alternative routes, or hut days if it’s dangerous. Safety comes first, but you’ll still get a full wilderness experience.
The weather forecast for Lemmenjoki will be in your customer portal, but be aware that mountain weather changes quickly. Trust your guide’s experience over phone apps in this environment.
You’ll be in prime territory with zero light pollution, but aurora activity depends on solar conditions. We keep everything crossed, but can never guarantee nature’s schedule.
Money: Finland is expensive, coffee costs €4-5, basic meals €15-20 but you’ll barely spend during wilderness days since everything’s included and there’s nowhere to shop.
Tipping: is not compulsory on our adventures, but if you’ve had a great trip and brilliant service, a tip for your guide or host is always appreciated. We recommend giving €20-€30, or whatever you can or feel is the right amount.
Communication: You’ll have no phone signal or WiFi during the wilderness days so embrace the digital detox. Emergency communication happens via satellite phones, which are carried by guides. You’ll be unreachable for five days whilst on the expedition – let your family and friends know!
We work with the best guides available, male or female. There are fewer women in outdoor guiding roles, so we prioritise expertise and guest experience. We vet every guide carefully and monitor feedback closely to ensure all guides align with our ethos and standards. We also hope more trips like ours encourage more women to find new activities and become guides themselves.
As soon as you book. Your policy must cover cross country skiing, and backcountry skiing with a guide, so make sure it’s specifically included rather than just general winter sports cover.
Max 7 guests.
There’s charging at basecamp, but no electricity at the wilderness huts, so make the most of it there before you head out.
Your pack size matters: You’ll swap between pulling a pulka and carrying a 35 to 60L backpack with another Gutsy Girl. It needs to be big enough to fit two people’s day kit, so this is one of the few trips where going bigger on your pack is the right call.
Fabric choice is non-negotiable out here: You’re in Finnish Lapland in subzero temperatures for five consecutive days. Merino, synthetic or silk for every layer, including base layers, long johns and even underwear. No cotton anywhere. It doesn’t dry, it doesn’t insulate when wet, and in expedition conditions that’s a real problem.
Gloves and warmth for your extremities: Bring two pairs of thick mittens in case one gets wet, plus thin liner gloves underneath for when you’re generating heat. Disposable hand warmers are worth having if you run cold. For socks, bring 5 to 7 pairs in different thicknesses. You’ll likely wear two pairs a day, one thin and one thick, to dial in fit and warmth in your hire boots.
Snacks that won’t freeze: Standard energy bars go rock hard in these temperatures and are miserable to eat on the trail. Previous guests recommend nut and raisin mixes, fruit pastilles and jelly babies, things that stay soft and edible in the cold. Bring more than you think you need, especially for the longer skiing days.
Trip Code FINWHFFOR – Include this code in any message so we can find your trip straight away.
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