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Pyhä

May 14, 2010 in Ski, Trips by Sami Uskela | No comments

It seems that I forgot to write any notes from our spring trip to Pyhä, so here are some recollections.

We visited Pyhä a week after Easter; i.e., 9-13 April 2010. Which turned out to be very good timing. The slopes were in excellent condition, plenty of sunshine, but not too warm to keep the snow skiable.

This was my first visit to the resort and despite all the praising from friends, I was still positively surprised. Definitely one of the best skiing terrains in Finland. This time there was not enough snow left for off-piste tours, but even the slopes kept us busy for 4 days.

We had accommodation in Hotel Pyhätunturi just next to the slopes. The room, service, and breakfast were ok, but definitely not luxurious ;-)

The best after-ski was – predictable – in Calsberg House; especially the band on Saturday proved to have good spirit and got everyone of the audience of 30 people in to the dance floor until 2 am. During day time Tsokka provided excellent waffles, soups, and poronkäristys for lunch with very nice service including personal touch from owners

We also tried various restaurants for dinner and verdicts are following:

  • Hotel restaurant: ok food, but a bit overpriced, service not in par with expectations
  • Huttu Uula pizza was good, a la carte was not inviting
  • Huttuhippu provided positive surprise; despite a bit down scale interior, the service and especially food were both excellent and decently priced. Can be recommended.

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Photos from St. Moritz

February 10, 2010 in Ski, St Moritz 2010, Trips by Sami Uskela | No comments

The first set of photos from last week available in Flickr

2010 - St Moritz

Last day – pure Powder!

February 7, 2010 in Ski, St Moritz 2010, Trips by Sami Uskela | 1 comment




Last day – pure Powder!

Originally uploaded by suskela

History repeated itself, just like last year it snowed heavily on the night before the last skiing day. It felt really good to end the trip with full day of pure powder runs! The visibility was quite limited, but the place was already well enough know to avoid bigger cliffs :) and on the afternoon there were also some moments of sunshine, which helped to get couple of really good runs!

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Sami Uskela
from Nokia N97 mini

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Getting better

February 4, 2010 in Ski, St Moritz 2010, Trips by Sami Uskela | No comments




Getting better

Originally uploaded by suskela

Finally some real skiing! Today afternoon we found couple of good lines with soft – and some times even light – snow. However, we are really waiting for the snow forecasted for tomorrow. It would be really nice to end the week with couple of real powder days.

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Sami Uskela
from Nokia N97 mini

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Waiting for more snow

February 2, 2010 in Ski, St Moritz 2010, Trips by Sami Uskela | 1 comment


waiting for more snow

Originally uploaded by suskela

The snow situation here in St. Moritz could be better, but the sun has been shining and pistes are in perfect shape.

My sunda was spent on watching worldcup super-G and horse polo on ice @ St. Moritz. Both were nice to see, but I still prefer skiing myself. The lunch place in Chantarella was truly excellent – probably the best ravioli I have ever tasted. Menu included also oysters and lobster…

The first real alpine turns of the season got done then on monday. Mostly on piste and not too much to tell. However, terrain looked promising in Corvatch. Just add some light snow :)

Today we explored the Diavolezza area, which also would have been good with better snow. The last run on the back side turned out to be truly exiting featuring few good turns in soft snow and couple of misses in navigation leading to ca. 45 min climb in deep snow to find suitable path between the rocks. Further adrenaling was generated due to steep but narrow passages included to the route – the whole thing looked much clearer on the map…

Anyhow, some new snow should be on the way. Maybe the end of the week would be more rewarding.
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Sami Uskela
from Nokia N97 mini

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Ready to go

January 29, 2010 in Ski, St Moritz 2010, Trips by Sami Uskela | No comments

Boots re-fitting – check :)

The fabulous packing list has been reviewed again and bag is full of stuff – however, this time it seems that all that fleece really needed; currently the weather forecast is talking about –20 degrees Celsius temperatures in down station level…

Now it’s time to set the alarm clock for early start and hope that Finnair will deliver all the equipment to Zurich with right plane.

Getting Ready

January 19, 2010 in Ski, St Moritz 2010 by Sami Uskela | No comments

Only 1½ weeks to go before the next powder opportunity and the preparations starts be done:

  • Flights to Zurich – check
  • Swiss train pass – check
  • Accommodation in St Moritz – check
  • Gear tested – check (at least they survided Swinghill)
  • Map acquired – check (the Freeride map looks promising)

To be done

  • Get boots to fitting (still not enough room for legs inside plastic)

Snow situation looks extremely good, so great skiing should be ahead :)

Season Opened

December 20, 2009 in Ski, Trips by Sami Uskela | No comments




Season Opened

Originally uploaded by suskela

The season opening at Ruka was truly great! The excellent winter weather continued for the whole weekend and slopes stayed on excellent shape and absolutely no quoues on any lifts. Naturally the lack of people on lifts lines had a smallish flip side in the form of quite quiet after ski…

Anyhow, we did our best to contribute for the business of as many restaurants as we could. Short summary below:
- Bistro was as always cousy atmosphere and good gulash soup. After ski at Davy Crocket was empty despite of the happy hour.
- Colorado was the best of the new places. Nice bar with sofas and tasty burritos on dining room.
- Piste offered decent burger in a clean environment; serves the purpose but nothing spectacular
- Rukahovi offered lame reindeer dish; try to avoid eating there
- Riipinen was fabulous. Tasty and tender reindeer file with fresh and friendly service. Recommended when you are on area; remember to book a table next to fireplace.

New skis and boots were also excellent. Either my skills have seriously improved over the summer or the new gear makes riding easier. I seriously suspect the latter…

This was a good start for the season. Now planning of the next gig can continue with higher motivation.

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Sami Uskela
from Nokia N97 mini

Ruka – Day 1

December 19, 2009 in Ski, Trips by Sami Uskela | No comments




Ruka – Day 1

Originally uploaded by suskela

The season has been opened! And I like it :)

The new skis cut the snow like a charm and new boots fit (almost) like a gloves. Big thanks to Heka for good recommendantions. In addition, the slopes are in excellent condition and scenery is so beautiful with all the snow.

Ruka has really changed my last visit. The number of restaurants has multiplied and Rukahovi has completely new extensions…

Now its time to gather strength for tomorrow.

Telemark Gear Renewal

December 5, 2009 in Equipment, Ski by Sami Uskela | No comments

The Telemark Gear renewal project passed the critical milestone when the credit card was handed over the desk at Ski Service Today. So now it is very clear that which equipment will be in the use on Ruka in couple of weeks :)

For those who happen to care, I got new Garmont ENER-G shoes (last season model), and a bit used K2 Anti Piste skis with Rottefella Cobra R8s. Report on usability will follow after first touch on snow.

So now I would have all kind of Telemark gear that I will not use anymore; if you need shoes, skis, or bindings send me a note…

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