What if there's no snow...?!

I like to look in on the TripAdvisor Äkäslompolo forum occasionally.  It's a good place to see the sort of questions that people are asking about our area and to try to help if I can. 

TripAdvisor Äkäslompolo Forum

Every so often, someone asks a question that makes you think a bit. 
Today was one of those days. 

"We were hoping for lots of snow so the children could do ski-ing, sledging, husky rides etc but looking at the webcams there seems to be only a slight smattering of snow at the moment. I am hoping this improves (will it?)

But what suggestions are there for things to do if the snow doesn't improve?"

First off it's pretty unlikely that we will still be snow free in three weeks, and I'm pretty sure there has never been a "Black Winter" here, i.e. no snow, ever. 

But, it's a good chance to review and highlight some of the things to see and do here that don't need snow.

So, forgetting about downhill and cross-country skiing, snowmobiles, husky sled rides, Santa trips , snow-showing and tobogganing - what is there to see and do in and around Äkäslompolo?

First of all, I think it's fair to say I didn't answer the original question very well! 

Given a bit of thinking time, and the chance to do what any man should do when faced with a tricky question, i.e. ask his wife... we came up with the following list... (Suggestions for additions most welcome!)

Outdoor Activities 

Not having snow around is no excuse for not getting out and getting active!
It's strange starting out in the cold sometimes, but when your body gets used to the cold, it's a great feeling when you get to the point where you are generating enough of your own warmth to keep things balanced. 

Ice Skating

If there is no snow, by the time it gets really cold, the lake in Äkäslompolo is one fantastic, huge ice rink for skating!  
When it does get covered in deep snow, there are cross country ski tracks cut on the lake and it becomes a handy shortcut between the two sides of the village.

There are quite a few lakes around and most of them are great for skating on. 
Of course it's good to check with a local, or see some locals skating on a lake to be sure it is safe. 

This was my effort at skating last year.  

Walking

Äkäslompolo has one of the best networks of cross-country ski tracks around, something approaching 400 km of tracks.  If there is no snow, these are fantastic walking routes taking you in and around the hills or deep in the forest of the Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park without fear of getting lost but seeing some of the most fantastic scenery.

Lots of the trails have cafes on the way, like Velhon Kota where you can top up on fresh Finnish baking, donuts and hot chocolate, coffee or berry juice to fire you up for the next leg. 

Running

It's quite a dry cold here so it can  really be quite cold before it starts getting advisable not to stay out too long.  Even at -20C it's quite nice going out for a run. (Ok, I once went out at -20C and that was pretty parky, but down to -15C really is ok).

The peace and stillness out running here is well worth experiencing.

Ice Fishing 

The frozen lake also provides a perfect opportunity for ice fishing.  It's easy to hire the equipment at the sports shops and get out on the lake, drill, and wait. 
I'm not much of a fisherman, but it's a popular activity here and, even if you don't get lucky, you have a great view of the skaters.

Cycling

Cycling is also a growing activity here with a new cycle route from Äkäslompolo to Levi having opened this summer and all sorts of bikes, including "Fat bikes" for serious off-roading, available to hire.  There is even a mountain bike track that starts at the top of the mountain, for the brave, which you can tackle over and over taking bikes up on the cable car after each descent.


See my Hullun Polkasu blog for details of how big cycling is getting in summer here too.  After 40 of us completed the route last year, there were over 120 this year.  It's not too early to book to join us next year :)

Wildlife Galore

You can go horse riding here for a different way of seeing the national park and nature, and, if your interests are in more varied wildlife the Äkäslompolo petting zoo is worth a visit too.  

Of course Äkäslompolo is a fabulous place to watch all the arctic wildlife and you are bound to see lots of reindeer wandering around, normally much more slowly than the squirrels that keep eating the nuts we put out for birds and Arctic hares, and you might even see an elusive Arctic fox. 

Oh, and there is a fantastic array of birds here, including the Kukkeli or Siberian Jay that will quite happily perch on your hand to eat any offered food.  


If you can't immediately find a Kukkeli, get yourself to one of the ski huts on the cross-country ski trails and cook some sausages on an open fire and you'll soon have a "Band" of Jays, no, not the O'Jays (Sorry, showing my age!), around you.

Here's one that we spotted earlier.

Sauna

You probably already know that sauna is a major part of Finnish life, and you will probably have a sauna in your cabin or hotel.  The "Real" Finnish sauna experience can be had down at the lake, where the Lakeside Sauna can be hired.  



Dipping in a frozen lake between sessions in the sauna is crazy, but it really has health benefits, and you'll never feel better than you do on the walk home after that experience, even without stopping for a refreshment at the Selvä Pyy on the way past! 

Eagle Safari

For the last couple of years, two local entrepreneurs have been running an eagle hide out on the forest here.  See my earlier blog on this too.  If you have any interest in birds or bird photography, this is a fantastic experience to see the most majestic wildlife at close quarters. 
You can find out more about this here.

http://www.wildlifeyllas.com/en/

Warmer Activities

Once you've tackled outdoor activities to burn off your excess energy, you might be ready for some more relaxing pursuits before you think about dinner or a few drinks in one of the local establishments. 

The lovely Kellokas building hosts the tourist information centre, has a fantastic little interactive museum and exhibition area, explaining a lot about the history and life in the Arctic.  It also has a nice cafe and a cinema (Kino Kellokas) that is the perfect place to watch some of the latest releases. 

At the cinema, most films that aren't animations are in English!  The tickets are only 10 Euros and you might just find your local blogger working as the projectionist!

Retail Therapy

For the extra cash that you can't spend on skiing lessons, it's well worth a visit to the Jounin Kauppa shopping centre.

There, you might even bump into local superstar Sampo Kaulanen "The Crazy Shopkeeper" and if you "like" his facebook page, you could win some unbelievable prizes, like 10 000 Euros or a car for example.  

There are also local galleries and craft shops highlighting and selling some of the best locally designed and produced items, these two for example, both well worth a visit. 

Navettagalleria                       

Lumiperhonen 

As well as these locally produced crafts, you can also find the bigger Finnish brands in the Seita and Marimekko stores in the shopping centre and the two sports shops, Sportia Ylläs and the Äkäslompolo Sport Shop both have great ranges of winter equipment and clothes and will also rent you any equipment you need. 

Northern Lights

Of course, up here in Lapland, one of the most incredible spectacles on the planet is available freely, if not predictably.  

The Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis have already been in good form this year and, with only a few hours of full daylight in late November, you have a great chance to see this phenomenal spectacle of nature without falling into a deep snowdrift while you are walking and gazing upwards at the same time.  
  
If you want to see some great examples of the shows we have had here, take a look at Markus Kiili's site or find him on Twitter (@kiili).  He is a local photographer that also runs Aurora photography courses. 

Evening Entertainment

Of course there are lots of excellent restaurants and bars to visit, often with live music, but I think that needs a separate entry, and some more time for testing!

Finally, if you still have energy left after all that, you could go ten-pin bowling in Ylläsjarvi, or join in the karaoke at the Joikupub before walking back to your cabin or hotel through the cold night air and the sparkling ice crystals forming in the clean, pure night air. 

It's a wonder that anyone finds time to ski at all!

Eagles of Lapland

Wildlife of the Arctic

Finnish Lapland is full of incredible contrasts.  Small villages with picture perfect cabins are dotted around forests where nature does its own thing, mostly untouched and unseen by people. 

Today, we had the opportunity to see some of this nature in action. 

Getting us out of bed at 5:30 on a Sunday morning takes something pretty special, but thanks to the team at Ylläs Wildlife, we had the chance to visit the bird-hide that has been the talk of the village here in Äkäslompolo in Finnish Lapland.

Given that we are not really birdwatchers, you might wonder what the excitement was about, and perhaps more so if I mentioned that we regularly have a range of feathered friends visiting our patio.  

Today, however, we were hoping to see the king of birds, the Golden Eagle.

Out into the Forest

After meeting up in the centre of the village, we were quickly tied and hooded, chloroformed and hustled into the boot of a waiting car.  Ok, perhaps a slight exaggeration, but we were asked to keep the hide location secret.  

A half hour drive had us parking in a cleverly camouflaged car-port out in the forest, then grabbing our rucksacks (bird spotting books, cameras, sandwiches and coffee) and walking through the snowy and still dark* forest to the edge of the clearing where the bird-hide was built earlier this year. 

* Dark is different above the Arctic Circle.  As we get nearer to December, the days do get shorter to the point where the sun doesn't rise at all for about six weeks, and there is only a short period of "Twilight" in the middle of the day.  

This period of polar night is known as "Kaamos" in Finnish.  

However, at the same time, everywhere is covered in a thick blanket of pure white snow that reflects the minimal light, even from the moon and stars, and so it is never completely dark, but has an ethereal, magical feel. 

The Bird-Hide

It's only about a 500 metre walk from the car port to the bird-hide, and in no time we were firing up the gas heaters, setting cameras into position and getting comfortable to wait, and hope...

As winter arrives and days shorten, the chances of seeing eagles from the hide increases.  With fewer daylight hours the birds have less time to eat, and so are more likely to be seen.   

To help things along, the Ylläs Wildlife team provides some very tasty meals, at least from the Eagle perspective, including raw reindeer, moose and occasionally, pork. 

This week, pork was on the menu.

Feeding the birds like this is important as it helps increase their chances of surviving the bitter Arctic winter, especially since Eagle numbers are still recovering. 

Forest Clearing

As the sun gradually rose and the sky, still heavy with snow cloud, brightened, we began to see the clearing much better.  The snowy trees providing a perfect backdrop and a series of kelo-logs in the foreground providing perfect feeding perches.   

Almost as soon as daylight started to arrive we had company.  First a few magpies then, as if heading for a pre-arranged secret meeting in the forest clearing, ravens began to appear from all directions until there were nearly 30 of them. 

At first a bit nervous, then settling down to feed, snow-bathe, get a bit grumpy with the magpies when they got too close, and generally entertain us. 

All the while, it was noticeable that there was some shift work going on, with four or five ravens always taking lookout positions round the edges of the clearing.  

Vesa, our guide and expert for the day explained that twitchy ravens are a fairly reliable signal that Eagles are moving around in the vicinity.  

Eagles are quite nervous and will watch and wait until they see ravens feeding comfortably before they decide it is safe for them to eat too. 

This is an odd sort of relationship, since seeing Eagles in the area is one thing that makes the ravens very uncomfortable.

Sure enough, as we watched, it was clear that the ravens were a bit up-tight, and every so often would jump up and scatter before settling down to feed again. 

Was that an Eagle?

It was then that we (or at least Vesa) spotted an Eagle in a tree about 300 metres away to the right of the clearing.  I tried to take a picture of it, but struggled to hold the camera still at that level of zoom. 

We think it was a Sea Eagle, as one had been seen there recently, but it didn't come close enough for us to identify with certainty. 

Only a few minutes later, another Eagle was spotted, this time to the left. This time, I managed to get a photo, but not great quality, since it was still quite dark, but it was enough to prove that we had at least seen one! 

We settled back down to hope that this second bird would be hungry enough to venture into the clearing. 

Movement in the undergrowth

Just as we were getting over seeing our first Eagles, we spotted something moving through the frosty forest undergrowth.  It was difficult to tell what it was at first, but as it moved towards the clearing, it turned out to be a fox. 

This fine fellow was nothing like the scraggy urban foxes we'd got used to seeing on the outskirts of London, but a healthy fit animal with thick luxurious fur.

As he moved into the clearing, the ravens and magpies didn't seem to be too concerned, and soon he too was enjoying a pork breakfast.  

Just as he was getting comfortable, the ravens suddenly scattered again, and the fox and magpies immediately retreated to a safe distance. 

Looking round, like us, they were just in time to see two Eagles settling in a tree at the back of the clearing.  

Then the oddest thing happened.  As the magpies and ravens shuffled nervously around the food, one Eagle took flight and disappeared into the distance. but the other gracefully swooped down and settled in the snow near to the fox.

By this time, we were all holding our breath in expectation of what might happen next.

After a moment or two, the Eagle walked through the trees, to within a few feet of the fox, almost out of our sight, and the two seemed to acknowledge each other in respectful silence.

Seeming happy with events, the fox headed off about his daily business and the Eagle decided that it was safe to return to the pork. 

The Eagle has landed 

For almost two hours, we watched, transfixed as this majestic bird ripped and tore at the pork, occasionally batting enormous powerful wings to warn off magpies that got a little too close.

The ravens on the other hand seem to have a lot of respect for the Eagle, and mostly stood back watching while he was eating, unlike the cheeky magpies. 

I don't think I've ever felt two hours pass so quickly.  It's an enormous privilege to be so close to raw nature and see such magnificent creatures at close quarters.  

With the eagle so comfortable feeding there for so long, I managed to catch a short video him.  Though there isn't any outdoor sound, you can almost hear us holding our breath as the camera shutters fire.  

If only I'd known we were going to have such an incredible view, I'd have invited a film camera crew and sound unit to join us! 

Ylläs Wildlife

If you are interested in Eagles or are visiting Finnish Lapland and would like to try to see them, the team at Ylläs Wildlife would be very happy to see you or hear from you.  

Their web-site www.wildlifeyllas.com has details of the hide and the Eagle Safari trips that they arrange.

Our sincere thanks to Vesa and Reino for setting up such a fantastic facility and giving us such an unforgettable day.  Special thanks to Vesa for sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge and making sure we didn't miss anything.  

I don't think that will be our last visit!