IL tested the toughest ski slope in Finland

A spoonful of a pound will fly when Iltalehti’s skiing expert Reijo Jylhä and CEO of Santasport Lapland Sports College Mika Kulmala present the 8.3 km race track of the Rovaniemi Finnish Cross-Country Skiing. It is possibly the most demanding of all time, where Finnish championship medals have been awarded.

– Yes, you can handle it, Jylhä encourages.

On Sunday, the men beat the traditional 8.3-kilometer track in Ounasvaara six times in the traditional Finnish Championships. The run has a height difference of 92 meters and a total climb of 321 meters. At 50 kilometers, there are about 1,900 meters of vertical climbing.

My ski diary has 2,000 miles on these snow, so the condition is decent. The climbs go when the grip gets to the miter, but the falls are exciting.

Kulmala leaves as a ski guide. A man suffering from back problems reports that he only skis free.

Yes, I would survive one of the gigs with free tricks, but in terms of the authenticity of this thing, we go with the traditional …

Shame and embarrass

The ski box has good canned grease sticks, but they don’t matter to a bit of icy banana. There should be glue. Is not. I slip my hair on the soles of my feet.

– The first three kilometers are easy. Relaxed, Kulmala refuses.

It will be tolerable until the first landing.

– This is then a warm-up compared to the top draw, Kulmala says and goes lightly into the landscape with his free tricks.

I’m running after you. The pace accelerates and I glance at the smartwatch that shows forty. Then I remember Jylh’s instruction: get off the track on the bills.

The tip of the left ski goes into the snowmobile groove. I completely lose control of the instrument and fly like a ladybug. The momentum only stops in the pine. The equipment and the man remain intact, miraculously.

I’m anxious. I can’t get my left ski on my leg.

It comes to mind Samuli Edelmann comment when, in his youth, he jumped from the Swedish ship into the sea: ashamed, embarrassed, and laughed.

Rigid jerk

We return to the ski stadium and head to the so-called uphill.

The rises are raw, but the coat bites well on the track. It’s not about getting stuck.

– Here’s an S-shaped bend. It is worth taking it calmly, even if the trees are padded, Kulmala states.

Oh hell.

It would make sense to grab your skis off and walk down, but that would be a shame.

Aura and I meander. I’m like Uuno Turhapuro as a swimmer: a rigid jerk with straight bodies.

I will stand up for this, the next and the next bill. They are horrible for an athlete with no racing background.

The sounds of the stadium are heard.

– This is the last place of attack, Kulmala says.

He has been a great guide dog. Without the man’s tips, I would definitely have crashed more than once.

The 8.3-mile lap goes three-quarters. At least during this season, I have never been as relieved when the loop is over.

One Impilinna

Ruka’s five-kilometer run is considered one of the toughest tracks in the World Cup, but it is “easy” for an athlete compared to the Rovaniemi trail. In Kuusamo, the height difference is 57 meters and the total elevation is 174 meters. Just a sullen landing on Impilinna, where Ristomatti Hakola cut his ribs at the beginning of the season, is disgusting.

– Impilinna has a hen here, Kulmala concludes.

Will all national skiers survive on Sunday with intact skins?

– Yes. However, they are on average more skilled than we are.

So.