By Norbert Meier and partner, Silvia Stettler of Canmore, Alberta
March 19, 2011
The ski across Finland is now completed. We both have mixed emotions about it and it will likely take us a while to digest it all. The ski itself was quite something; the people we met in our ski group were interesting and it was fun to be a part of such a group of dedicated skiers; the Finnish people we met along the way gave us an insight into their culture and society that we really appreciated; and, all the world events happening in the background (Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Japan) gave us much to think about and be thankful for.
Last year, it seemed so easy to think about skiing across Finland when it was a map on a computer screen and a bunch of words on a page. On Day 2 of the actual ski, the enormity of what we had taken on sunk in with me. We had literally decided to journey across a country one step at a time, starting at one border and going to the other one. No assisted travel, just our own energy and willingness to go on. The skiing itself had its moments – some good, some not so good. It’s hard to imagine skiing 400km anywhere and not experience ups and down. Skiing through the dense forest near the Russian border, with the trail twisting and turning up and down, along a river and over the hills – it was an exciting start. The new snow made the waxing a challenge and the skiing slow. We were pooped at the end of that day and the prospect of 6 more like this was not good. Plus, there was a 300m walk between our accommodation and the dining room … sounds of grumbling were heard.
Day 2 started by skiing along an old railway bed that had been built by the Germans during WWII using Russian prisoners of war. It was impossible not to think about the pain and suffering that likely happened along this route at that time. It was also a very boring place to ski : long straightaways, very little gradient change and dense forest all along the way. And, did I mention it was still snowing? The highlight of the day was the salmon soup served in a Sami tent. Delicious soup, campfire, shelter from the wind – what more could you ask for? Ok, maybe it’s best not to get started on that quite yet.
The weather got better on Day 3 and the terrain was a bit more mixed. We started seeing these very large moors of bogs and skiing across them took quite a while each time. The side wind that obliterated track and the emerging sun, all made for interesting skiing, but at least the wax worked better. We were now fully into this thing and with the weather improving, it was great to be putting back the kilometres. We had also figured out how much to eat in the morning (lots), so our bodies were faring better.
Day 4 was the Queen Stage – the longest and toughest part of the tour. The big hill was actually very fun to ski up and down. What a relief to do something other than ski flat terrain. The end of this day was tough, though, as we had to ski to the top of an alpine ski area. Luckily, Finland doesn’t have big mountains and we used a T-bar for the final bit. Even though we got an early start (7:30am), it was still late afternoon when we finished. Almost 9 hrs of skiing that day and skiing along the flats knowing there was a major hill climb still to come didn’t help our morale.
Day 5 was the shortest day of the tour and the one most likely to be under-estimated. I mean, it was only 44 km – how hard can that be? Of course, having done 86 the day before and starting to really feel the cumulative effects of all the 260 km already skied had to be factored in. This was the night we stayed in an unused school house and our expectations of this experience were quite low. As it turned, it was pretty amazing. The food here was cooked by women from the village, it was the best of the entire trip and because our group had been split in 2 (with the other half staying in another school some kilometres away), the group got tighter and we made some deeper personal connections than had been possible in a group of 70. Sleeping dormitory style with 10 other men was actually ok, except for the one cellphone that rang during the night without the owner waking up to answer it. My ear plugs didn’t work that well, but the snoring wasn’t really all that bad.
Day 6 was exciting as you could sense this thing was actually coming to a conclusion. The terrain was very mixed, but still fairly flat. The over-riding sense that we had actually done it was starting to show up. Our skiing kept getting better. We had a wonderful afternoon of skiing in a group with a Frenchman, a Russian, and 2 Finns. The feeling of all us skiing in unison, keeping a good pace and feeling this strong connection was memorable.
Day 7 was a “let’s get it done” kind of day. The trails were fantastic, the weather glorious and the sense of accomplishment starting to really show. As the kilometres clicked on by, we felt the end rushing near. At 30k to go, I remember thinking that it might actually feel sad to stop doing this.
The celebration in the evening of the last day was very fun. Each country had been asked in advance to prepare a little skit, or whatever they felt like, to share with the group as a way of capping the experience. Silvia and I decided to sing Ian Tyson’s “Four Strong Winds”. During the tour, our guide had given us a weather forecast each evening with an indication of wind direction by saying the wind would be coming on to our left cheek, or our forehead, etc. So, it seemed fitting to be singing about wind. The Spanish group sang Viva Espana, the French did 4 numbers finishing with Frere Jacques, the Dutch compared Finnish and Dutch culture, the Germans sang wandering songs and the Finns gave us a language lesson and led us in a waltz. Tears were shed, email addresses exchanged and hugs shared. Quite an evening!
One of the Frenchmen, Roland, commented that the organizers were creating world peace with this tour, referring to the skiing we did together on Day 6. He was right. We’ll always remember the feeling of one-ness of those few hours skiing with the French, Russian and Finnish skiers. All in unison, all helping each other keep the pace going – it doesn’t get better. It feels great to be in recovery mode. The body held out remarkably well for the whole tour and not doing much of anything right now also feels very good. I don’t think we actually got tired of skiing, though. Each day was a different ski experience and although portions were boring and in other parts
we were in survival mode, it was still fun to ski the terrain, to feel the snow rush by, to see what the next turn of the trail held and to realize that, with each stride, we were making the end come that much closer.
Silvia was one of only 2 women to ski the entire distance. The other women all took the bus for part of the trail on one day or the other. Of the 70 or so in the entire group, only 30 skied the entire distance. As each day started, a slight pecking order of ski speed emerged. We never really bothered with that, starting when we felt like. But as we passed skiers who had started before us, the words “Canadian Express” started to be heard. It was a lot of fun skiing with Silvia all those days, switching lead position every 10k in the morning and every 5k in the afternoon. Matching strides, working the terrain and enjoying the scenery – all without working too hard and finding as much free glide as we could, those were the good days. Putting your head down, trying to find the windblown track across an expanse of lake or bog, looking at the next trail marker and knowing the lake still had 7 of them to go…those were some of the more challenging moments. Climbing a hill to find ourselves surrounded by a herd of reindeer, all with little bells around their necks, to ski along and see moose tracks heading off in every direction and to hear the chirp of birds in the woods follow us for kilometres…more good moments.
Inigo, Gerardo, James, Roland, Jean-Luc, Evgeny, Ritva, Leila, Anna, Per, Trish, Marta, Juan, Jaako, Klaus, Ulf, Wolfgang, the Ringleader, Sanna and the bus drivers : each one a different memory and story. Ranua, Hotel Tropikkii, Hokmanaa, Hosio, Oivanki, Kuusamo, Pulsajaarvi and Tornio: so many places along the way.
And the aid stations…..Swedish (Finnish, I suppose) waffles with lingonberry jam, pickles, raisins and countless cups of raspberry drink, salmon soup : it was all good, although I may hold off eating another hard-boiled egg or boiled potato for a while.
NM
11-03-22