The Lapponia Week 2009
by Hannes Larsson
October 23, 2009
I had heard enthusiastic descriptions about this event over a number of years, by skiers from France, Germany, Italy, USA and many other countries, but paradoxically, I hade never experienced it myself. This shortcoming in my XC skiing career was at last repaired in 2009.
The Lapponia Week takes place, as one can guess from the name, in Lapland, Finland. It takes place end of March/early April and consists of three races: 60 km on Monday, 50 km on Wednesday and 80 km on Friday. The location is in Muonio, not far from the Swedish border and 200 km north of the Arctic Circle. Springtime in Lapland is nice with long days and no bitter colds as in the middle of the winter. Snow is abundant.
This year the races were on March 30, April 1 and 3. The weather was fine with temperatures a few degrees below freezing, except the last day when we had -12°C at the start. In daytime the temperatures approached 0°C but the snow remained a pleasant powder snow, no need of klister for classic skiers. These races are FT races, a classic track was available for CT skiers. It is to be noted that this year, for the first time, the organizers had planned to repeat the same program one week later as purely CT races. But the CT week was cancelled because of too few registrants.
We had a fine weather during the whole week with light snow fall a couple of times. The first race day was cloudy but a radiant sun made the second and third days unforgettable experiences on the Lapland hills called tunturi. We are here in the area of the West Lapland tunturis. They are round mountains, sometimes isolated, sometimes grouped. Although they are not very high (the highest point is around 800 m a.s.l.), they rise 300-400 m above the tree limit of the relatively flat surroundings and their treeless tops are visible from far away; similarly, the view from the tunturis encompasses a wide area.
The 60 km race on Monday is called Keimiön Kiekerö (circle around Keimiö). It starts and finishes at the Olos hotel. The course is mostly in forests, with some nice climbs. It includes a couple of lake crossings that may become boring after a while and you welcome the variable terrain when you at last reach the other shore.
On the second day skiers are transported by bus to the start area of the 50 km race called Himmelriikin Hiihto (the race of heaven’s realm). This race (as the two other races) starts across a lake; that gives enough space for the mass start and allows the line of skiers to extend, avoiding bottlenecks along the course. It is the shortest race but just after the lake there is the biggest climb of the whole week, about 300 m on a distance of 2 km. After the top (breathtaking views), you enjoy the biggest descent of the whole week, a couple of km on the other side of the tunturi. Finish at the Olos hotel.
The third day is the 80 km Karra Huikonen. Karra is a saame word meaning hard. Huikonen is a popular word meaning something like Odyssey or challenge. Skiers are transported by bus to the start area. After some 10 km of variable terrain, begins a long but progressive climb to the tunturis. At one point you ski in a canyon-like section after which you reach the treeless area that you enjoy for at least 10 km. From far away, skiers preceding you or behind you look like ants. A long, fast and easy descent leads you back to the forested area. The track joins the course of Himmelriikin Hiihto 30 km from the finish.
Attached are four pictures showing:
- Renzo and Stefano Perfumo (ITA) 15 min before the start, Himmelriikin Hiihto
- Finish at the Olos hotel
- The “canyon”
- The tunturis
In the 2009 events about 450 skiers finished the race each day. Around 15 % of them were women and approximately the same percentage were foreigners. In addition half distance races were available; these attracted about 30 skiers on the two first days and 80 the third day.
The best place to stay is the Olos hotel, 5 km from the centre of Muonio. Cheaper accommodation is available nearby. From southern Finland it takes a full day to drive to Muonio. Many skiers fly to Kittilä from where buses take you to Muonio, distance 80 km. Lapponia’s website is www.lapponiahiihto.fi (you can choose an English and a German version); it includes a video.
My conclusion is that the Lapponia week is a must for serious XC skiers.
This page was last revised on February 14, 2010