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Types of Skiing Explained: Alpine, Nordic, Touring & SkateFinland
Feb
Three winter sports in one week in Finland’s Hossa National Park. Deep snow, wood-fired saunas and a night off-grid.
Beginner
Moderate
Home Comforts
From
£1,800
(USD $2,826.00)
An Active Winter Trip
Experience Finnish winter on this multi-activity adventure, built for winter sports beginners.
Spend a week exploring Hossa National Park’s wilderness by snowshoe, fat bike, and cross-country skis. Then unwind in a Finnish sauna and brave the natural ice bath if you’ve got the guts.
The highlight? An overnight expedition to a secluded off-grid cabin where you’ll completely disconnect from real life. With no light pollution and clear skies, Northern lights sightings are possible, but never guaranteed.
Snowy landscapes, three new sports and the raw beauty of Finland at its coldest. That’s the week.
An Active Agenda
No Hidden Costs
Three days trekking through winter terrain
Two days learning with an instructor
One day cycling through winter terrain
Evening saunas, icy lake dips and reindeer visits
Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
Six nights in a cosy cabins with a sauna, one night in a remote off-grid hut
One off-grid night in remote huts
Qualified local guides and your Gutsy Girls host
Pick-up and drop-off at Kuusamo Airport
Activity Overview
Trek through Finnish winter landscapes where snowshoes let you move across deep powder instead of sinking through it. If you love hiking, then this is the winter version.
Strap snowshoes onto your boots and the wide frame distributes your weight, keeping you on top of the snow. No technical skills needed, just your usual hiking fitness. This means you’ll be moving through snowy forests right away, without spending days getting to grips with complicated techniques.
Activity Overview
Once you have snowshoeing sorted, step up to cross-country skiing where you’ll glide across rolling terrain instead of just walking on it.
Cross-country skiing takes you over flatter, rolling (sometimes downhill) landscapes. It has a much faster learning curve than downhill skiing and you’ll make progress over just a couple of days (plus it’s friendlier on the knees).
You need to not mind sliding around and have a bit of balance. Expect to lose control a bit, that’s part of the fun.
Activity Overview
Snowshoe deep into the wilderness and spend the night in an off-grid hut. The remote location means no electricity – you’ll keep warm with the log-burning stove, eat by candlelight and enjoy the quiet (plus laughter every time someone has to bundle up for the outdoor bathroom).
There may not be running water, but there’s a traditional wood-fired sauna. Fire it up after your active day, then plunge straight into the frozen lake if you’re feeling brave.
Activity Overview
Cycle through snowy forest on fat bikes that grip everything and let you cover serious ground fast.
No need to be a serious cyclist, you just need to know how to ride a bike and stay balanced. You’ll cruise forest trails while fat tyres crunch through snow, picking up speed as you weave between trees.
Activity Overview
Visit a local reindeer farm and get up close with these Arctic animals. You’ll learn how they survive Finnish winters, and feed them yourself.
Activity Overview
Although nature doesn’t ever work to schedule and there are no guarantees, a week in the Finnish wilderness gives you multiple shots at spotting the aurora.
The clear skies and zero light pollution create great conditions for sightings, so once the sun goes down check the sky each evening for a chance to see that green glow appear.
Activity Overview
Finns take saunas seriously, there are more saunas than cars in this country. With access to a wood-fired sauna at your accommodation, you’ll be in there every evening to ease worked muscles after winter activities.
Once you’ve warmed up, you can also take the plunge (literally) with a dip in the frozen lake for a true bit of hot and cold therapy.
The Destination
Your Adventure Starts Here
Arrive at Kuusamo airport and transfer to our base camp in Hossa. Drop your bags and get settled.
Meet the group over dinner. Your Finnish winter adventure starts now!
Strap on snowshoes and trek to Colour Rock, home to 4,000-year-old rock paintings that'll make you rethink your sense of history.
Picnic lunch by the prehistoric art around a crackling open fire. The perfect way to warm up in freezing air before heading back.
Warm back up with a sauna (and ice dip), then enjoy dinner.
Breakfast, then head out to learn cross-country skiing. It’s Finland's obsession and for good reason. You'll have an intro on the basics, then head onto easy tracks through pine forests and across frozen lakes.
More cross-country skiing, with chances to really nail your technique whilst taking in the scenery.
Warm up at the cabin. Hit the sauna if your muscles are calling for it, then refuel with a hearty dinner.
Today is all about fat biking. Fat bikes have oversized tyres that grip snowy terrain like nothing else. It's easier than you'd think and more fun than you'd expect.
Stop at a wilderness hut for lunch, then ride across frozen lakes, through forests and along snowy trails.
Sauna to restore tired legs. You can go full Finnish and take a dip in the icy lake first, or just stay in the warmth!
Breakfast, then clip back into your skis for another go at cross-country skiing. Today we'll head out on different tracks to cover more of the forests and trails.
After lunch we'll continue to explore the landscape, tackling a longer route and trying out some gentle hills too.
There's a sauna and ice dip on the cards, then catch up over dinner.
Today we'll leave base camp behind and snowshoe deep into the wilderness for an overnight stay in a remote cabin.
Trek along a ridge between two frozen lakes, through snow-heavy pine, spruce, and birch forests. Proper backcountry stuff.
Settle into a remote cabin with no WiFi, no signal and no distractions. Just you, the group, and possibly the northern lights, if we get lucky.
Final snowshoe back to our base cabin through the deep, silent forest.
Visit a local reindeer farm. Learn how these animals survive Finnish winters and have adapted to the harsh climate.
Last sauna session, then enjoy a farewell dinner to toast the week you've just had.
Transfer to the airport. Head home with memories that'll last, a camera full of photos and new adventure buddies.
Rest & Refuel
Six nights in a small, cosy cabin for two, with its own kitchen and lounge. You'll share a twin room with one other guest.
For one night, we’ll also stay in rustic, off-grid cabins that offer a truly back-to-nature experience. They're heated by wood stoves, with no electricity. There's a traditional wood-fired sauna, and we'll wash sauna-style. No showers out here.
1 of 2
Simple, hearty cooking. Porridge and bread in the morning, soup over the fire at lunch, stews and traditional dishes at night. Nothing fancy, but there's plenty of it.
2 of 2
Book now
The Essentials
| Accommodation |
Home Comforts Six nights in a small, cosy cabin for two, with its own kitchen and lounge. You’ll share a twin room with one other guest. Private rooms are not available on this trip. For one night, we’ll stay in rustic, off-grid cabins, heated by wood stoves, with no electricity. Cabins
Off-Grid Wilderness Cabin
|
|---|---|
| Food |
All meals are included, from dinner on arrival day to breakfast before your journey home. If you have a severe food allergy, please get in touch before you book.
|
| Fitness Level |
2
Moderate Snow depth of 60-70cm makes the 6-11km you’ll cover daily much more difficult than any regular hike or bike ride. You’ll be active five to six hours a day across six consecutive days, over varied terrain through forest, frozen lakes and ridges, with one night in a basic wilderness cabin (no running water or electricity, just a log-burning stove). If you train three or more times a week and back-to-back active days don’t faze you, you’ll manage well. You'll Need to Be
|
| Skill Level |
1
Beginner No experience needed for any of the activities except cycling – you need to be comfortable riding a bike before you arrive. 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
|
| Travel |
The meeting point for this trip is Kuusamo Airport. For alternative routes and travel information, please see the trip guide. |
| Not Included |
|
| Trip Code |
FINUPIMLT |
The answers
No previous experience is required. You do need to be able to ride a bike, but no mountain biking or technical experience is necessary. We’ll teach you the techniques for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
You’ll be active 5-6 hours daily for 6 consecutive days in snow often 60-70cm deep. If you do physical activity that gets your heart rate up three times a week for at least 45 minutes, you’ll have a great time.
Layering is key. We recommend synthetic, wool or silk base layers, fleece or wool mid-layers, topped by a windproof shell jacket and trousers. We provide snow boots and mittens. Avoid cotton clothing, it gets wet and cold and doesn’t dry fast.
Snowshoes, trekking poles, snow boots and mittens (free to rent if needed), cross country ski equipment (boots, skis, poles), fat bikes and helmets, sleeping bag and mummy liner for wilderness night, bath towel.
You’ll have one night in rustic, off-grid cabins heated by wood stoves with no electricity. Bunk rooms sleep up to 4 others, whilst your toilets are in a separate building. There’s also a traditional wood-fired sauna so you can wash sauna-style with melted snow water.
Fat biking uses bikes with oversized tyres for increased traction and stability. It will be a challenge, but much easier than riding a regular bike in snow, that’s for sure.
To reach the trip start point you need to fly to Kuusamo Airport, there are direct flights from London. You can also book with a connecting flight via Helsinki. From there you will need to meet our set-time group transfer for the 1 hour journey to the cabin.
You can fly from anywhere you like. The flights below are the ones we recommend, because the group transfer is timed to meet them.
There’s one transfer each way and it’s tied to the Gatwick flight, so if that one is delayed, the transfer waits for it. Any other arrival is very welcome, but the transfer leaves at its listed time whether or not you’ve landed. If you’re booking something else, check your travel insurance covers missed connections and onward transport.
London to Kuusamo, airBaltic
We include one shared transfer on both the arrival and departure days of your trip.
As above, the transfer is tied to the Gatwick flight. If that flight is delayed the transfer waits. Any other arrival needs to make the listed time.
If your flights don’t match the group transfer times, we can arrange a private transfer between Kuusamo Airport and Hossa. It needs to be booked in advance, and the cost is per vehicle, not per person:
The drive takes around an hour. If there are others on your trip in the same position, you’re welcome to share a vehicle and split the cost between you. Contact our Bookings Team to arrange it.
The group transfer is included in your trip price, and there is no reduction if you book a private transfer instead.
Temperatures normally vary between -5 and -20°C, with the occasional super low of -35°C.
You can get a bus to Kuusamo from Oulu (3 hours, from €28), or train from Helsinki to Oulu, then get the bus. This route means you’ll see more of Finland out of the window, but adds complexity. Most people stick with our recommended flights for good reason.
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