(click on any photo to enlarge) Work has taken me to Finland for ski testing and a Fischer 2013-14 Product Line preview. After 28 hours of travel (ouch!) I finally arrived in Kuopio, about an hours flight north of Helsinki. The Lakes Region of Finland is known for great skiing in the Winter and boating and golf in the Summer. This time of the year (Spring) the days are getting longer and the sun doesn't go down until close to 10pm. Which meant after long days of meetings in conference rooms, my skiing was limited to 7pm to 9pm, which was fine with me. The ski trails in this area are community maintained and connect most of the small towns together. Also the Fins add street lights to a lot of the trails so they can ski during the short mid-winter days.
To say I was happy is an understatement(video link). After the bleak winter we have had in the Sierra, the winter like conditions here are awesome. The Finnish people are very friendly and accommodating. We had great food (lots of fish) and good weather (by Finnish standards). Temperatures were between 26F and 36F most of the week and it snowed a couple of days. As I found out, this is very typical spring weather in Finland. The Classic skiing was great as our Zero skis were working great the entire week, which meant no klister and no sticky gloves.
I wish my photos did the scenery justice, but its hard to capture the expansive feeling that skiing in this area brings. Unfortunately all good things come to an end and I had to leave this Nordic skier paradise and endure a 30 hour travel return trip. I arrived home late last night, completely jet lagged and feeling hungover even though I wasn't drinking. Now I have to wax skis and get in the 4Runner to head to Mammoth for the last Demo of the year. I'll be glad when Sunday night comes as it signifies the end of Demo/Clinic season. Now I can ski a little and relax. Cheers.
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