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Types of Skiing Explained: Alpine, Nordic, Touring & SkateFinland
Feb - Mar
Hut-to-hut backcountry skiing through Finland’s largest national park in Lapland. Properly wild with northern lights and reindeer encounters.
Beginner
Challenging
Back to Basics
From
£1,985
(USD $3,116.45)
Arctic Wilderness Challenge
Challenge yourself this winter on a backcountry skiing expedition through Lapland wilderness.
Ski between remote huts, navigate terrain where few people venture, and with zero light pollution the northern lights will put on a show (nature willing – she doesn’t perform on command). This is a proper adventure that’ll push you well out of your comfort zone.
No experience required, just show up ready to get stuck in and discover what you’re made of. Oh, and pack your sense of humour too, you’ll need it.
An Active Agenda
No Hidden Costs
Guided hut-to-hut skiing expedition in the wilderness
All expedition equipment included
Three nights in a shared cabin and four in wilderness huts
Dehydrated expedition meals and two restaurant dinners
Experienced wilderness guide and your Gutsy Girls host
Pick-up and drop-off at Ivalo Airport
Activity Overview
Backcountry Nordic skiing – sometimes called Fjellski or Nordic ski touring – is cross-country skiing off the beaten track. No groomed trails, no crowds, just you making your own way through wilderness.
This isn’t alpine backcountry skiing. This is flat-terrain cross-country for exploring remote places. It’s like winter hiking, with a glide instead of steps.
You’ll learn the basics on your first full day, then cover 9 to 15km daily while pulling everything you need behind you.
You’ll learn the basics on day one, then cover 10 to 17km daily while pulling everything you need behind you.
Activity Overview
Everything you need for a week, including food, sleeping gear, spare clothes and cooking equipment, gets loaded into a pulka (expedition sled) that you’ll haul behind you. You’re completely self sufficient, with no supply drops at your next hut or restocked base camps.
The sled can weigh up to 30kg and has a personality of its own. It’ll try to overtake you on descents and drag like a stubborn dog on flat ground.
Your legs will hurt, you’ll get tired, and some days you’ll wonder why you signed up. Don’t worry, you’ll have new friends to laugh about your Type 2 fun holiday with. Nothing bonds people like mutual suffering in sub-zero temperatures.
Activity Overview
Step outside your wilderness hut and look up. This far north with zero light pollution, you’re in prime aurora territory. No guarantees – nature doesn’t work that way – but when the lights show up, you’ll know about it.
The Destination
Your Adventure Starts Here
Land at Ivalo Airport and meet your group. Transfer straight into Lemmenjoki National Park to your log cabin base and run through your equipment check so you know exactly what you’re carrying.
Thaw out in the sauna, then sit down to a welcome dinner and a full briefing on the week ahead.
Breakfast, then a 5km forest ski tour. Learn how to move efficiently on backcountry skis and get comfortable with your kit.
5km
More ski technique and a lesson on pulka handling. You’ll be hauling these through snow for days, so get the hang of it now. Lunch is a sausage barbecue out in the snow, cooked over an open fire if conditions allow.
Dinner, then feed the local reindeer (they're surprisingly pushy when food's involved). Finally grab an early night - tomorrow you leave civilisation behind! (Please note that due to weather and timings, feeding the reindeer may move to the last night of the trip)
The expedition begins. Clip into your pulka (the sled you’ll haul behind you all week) and ski up the Lemmenjoki river valley. The terrain is mostly flat, which is as gentle as the week gets.
15km
Stop for lunch out on the trail, then keep tracking up the valley, to your first wilderness hut. No electricity, no mobile signal, just you and the forest.
Expedition-style rehydrated dinner and well-earned sleep. The hut is basic, but after a day of skiing, you won't care.
After breakfast, tackle the journey to historic Morgamoja ravine. It’s a shorter distance but a gradual uphill so your legs will know about it
9km
Follow the old Gold Trail to a mining hut built for winter use when gold fever hit this area. No electricity, but there's an outdoor sauna.
Wash with warm melted snow water, enjoy a sauna session, then settle in for a good night’s sleep.
Leave the pulka behind and snowshoe or ski to Morgan-Viibus fell. Your legs get a break from hauling, but not from working.
10km
Learn to dig your own snow shelter (quinzee), if time allows. It’s a proper wilderness skill that might actually save your life one day.
Back to the hut for dinner, sauna, and a second night’s sleep in the same bed (relative luxury by expedition standards).
Skis and pulka back on for the journey to your final wilderness cabin, skiing through fells and forests with your pulka in tow.
13km
Ski with your pulka through frozen landscapes, the kind of terrain you can’t reach any other way.
Enjoy your final expedition dinner and sauna session. It’s the last night sleeping in the kind of quiet that comes with being miles from anywhere.
Your last day on skis as you follow the icy river back towards civilisation.
15km
Back to the starting log cabin for a hot shower and sauna (you'll appreciate running water like never before).
Final dinner as a group - time to laugh about the highs and lows of the adventure and plan your next expedition.
Refuel with breakfast, then take the group transfer to Ivalo airport. That’s a week of ski touring, pulka hauling and wildness nights behind you.
Rest & Refuel
You'll start and finish in a cabin with electricity, situated right by a restaurant, sauna, and hot showers. The expedition huts are basic: no electricity, no running water. Instead there are wood stoves for heat, candles for light, shared outhouses, and one small space with bunk beds where everyone sleeps packed in close.
1 of 2
On the expedition, food is simple and built for fuel over flavour. Breakfast is porridge packets, bread, cheese and jam. Lunch is sandwiches made at breakfast plus instant noodles, and dinner is a dehydrated expedition meal you add boiling water to. You'll have a restaurant meal at the cabin at the start and end of the trip. Bring your own snacks for extra energy through the day.
2 of 2
Availability
The Essentials
| Accommodation |
Back to Basics No electricity, no running water, and everyone shares one small space. You’ll sleep in bunk beds, packed in close, and in some cabins you may end up on a mattress on the floor. It’s tight, and there’s no point sugar-coating it. You’ll warm the hut with the wood burner and melt snow for the next day’s drinking water. We start the trip with two nights and finish with one in a comfortable log cabin: electricity, a restaurant and bar, sauna, indoor toilets and showers.
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|---|---|
| Food |
All meals are included, from dinner on arrival day to breakfast before your journey home. Most of the food is simple and designed to fuel you. If you have a severe food allergy, please get in touch before you book.
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| Fitness Level |
3
Challenging Skiing 9 to 15km daily while hauling a 20-25kg sled is five to seven hours of sustained full-body effort. Cross-country skiing also works differently from most cardio, so even strong runners find muscles firing that they don’t normally use. Temperatures are sub-zero throughout the trip, which means your body is already working harder just to stay warm before you’ve skied a kilometre. If you’re training hard three or more times a week and you’ve experienced back-to-back demanding days before, you’re ready. Not sure if this is the level for you? We’ve got a detailed breakdown of fitness requirements in our trip guide. You'll Need to Be
|
| Skill Level |
1
Beginner No cross-country skiing or expedition experience is needed, but it helps. We’ll teach you the technique, but there are two things no amount of coaching changes: the feeling of gliding, and falling over. You have to be alright with both. It’s a brilliant sport, but it isn’t for everyone, and that’s worth knowing before you book. Beginner is the skill level. It’s not an easy trip. Check the Fitness Level above. Not sure what level you are? Our Trip Rating Guide explains how we score fitness and skill. |
| Packing List |
Below are a few specialist items you will need or might have to invest in before your adventure. For a full list of what you’ll need to bring, check out the trip guide. We Provide
You'll Need
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| Travel |
The meeting point for this trip is Ivalo Airport. For alternative routes and travel information, please see the trip guide. |
| Not Included |
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| Trip Code |
FINWHFFOR |
The answers
You don’t need prior ski experience, though it helps. What matters more is good balance, comfort with gliding, a solid fitness level and a sense of humour. This isn’t a gentle introduction; it’s demanding and rewarding wilderness travel.
You’ll ski 9-15km daily pulling a 20-25kg sled, live without electricity or running water for several nights, and handle consecutive active days in subzero conditions. High fitness and mental resilience are essential.
This beginner’s trip is designed for women new to expedition life but ready for the challenge. You’ll receive full tuition on day one and have an experienced wilderness guide with you throughout.
We provide all technical kit: touring skis, boots, poles, winter sleeping bags, sleeping mats, sleds (pulkas), tents, shovels, and expedition gear. You bring personal clothing, snacks, and toiletries.
You’ll be active for 5-7 hours daily, including breaks, covering 9-15km.
This is backcountry wilderness exploration. Instead of neatly carved tracks, you’ll break your own trails through deep snow. Think hiking with skis on rather than faster, track-based skiing. You’ll also be on wider skis for stability at a slower pace to help with pulling the sled.
Fly into Ivalo, Finland. Finnair operates flights from London Heathrow via Helsinki, so you can either connect directly or spend extra time exploring Helsinki. Our group transfer picks up at Ivalo Airport.
We will collect you from Ivalo Airport on arrival day and drop you back on the last day of the trip. You are responsible for getting yourself to the airport.
Transfer times:
The group transfer is included in your trip package. There is no discount if you choose not to use it.
Transfers run on fixed schedules and can’t be delayed. If your flight doesn’t align, you’ll need private transport to meet the group, which can be expensive in remote areas. It will probably be more cost-effective to fly in a day earlier and spend the night in Helsinki than to pay for a private transfer.
February dates fall over half-term, so the flights between Helsinki and Ivalo that fit best with our transfers get busy and expensive. Check flight prices before you book your trip so the cost doesn’t catch you out.
Booking as early as you can helps most. There are two other ways to bring the cost down:
If you’d like a hand looking at flights, get in touch with our Bookings Team.
Expect temperatures between -5°C and -20°C, occasionally dropping to -30°C or rising above zero. Finnish cold is “dry” so feels less harsh than damp UK conditions. Weather varies from sunny to cloudy, with a chance of heavy snowfall.
You’ll be in prime territory with zero light pollution. We can’t guarantee sightings as it’s all down to nature, but the location definitely gives you the best possible chance.
Absolutely. Arctic weather can change rapidly, so guides will adjust daily plans for the best and safest experience. We build flexibility into every expedition because wilderness conditions shift quickly.
You can bring euros for drinks or additional snacks to stock up on before heading out on the expedition, however, many places also take cards.
Yes, the arrival cabin will store any luggage you don’t need during wilderness days. Pack a small bag with expedition essentials and leave the rest safely stored.
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