Finnish Wilderness Week

Most Inspirational Moment

Dog sledding

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very good leadership

Advice for Potential Travellers

All outdoor clothing provided and kept you warm

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many inspirational moments but the mushing was probably the most inspirational.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Martti was fantastic. Very knowledgeable. Very patient. Looked after everyone’s needs.

Advice for Potential Travellers

In previous reviews a lot has been said about the gear provided. It is perfectly adequate but you may wish to bring some of your own stuff e.g. a good down jacket, some snow shoes for getting around the base camp and maybe a ski jacket and trousers if you are intending to spend a day (downhill)skiing in Ruka.

Suggestions

Although it was only a week it seemed much longer!

Most Inspirational Moment

For me, the most inspirational moment of the trip was the 5km snow shoe hike in the Rissintunturi National Park. Trekking through the spruce forest and seeing the strange formations formed by the snow build up was out of this world and offered me a magical snow walking experience. A close second was the visit to the Husky farm and stroking the friendly dogs and doing the dog sledding on a 10km mushing adventure.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Anton was our group leader. His skills were exceptional and he was very knowledgeable about anything nature wise. He also spoke good English, was very patient and had a brilliant sense of humour. Martii and the rest of base camp staff were always accommodating and friendly.

Suggestions

All the gear and clothing was of a high standard and was issued on the first day so you had it all week. The activities were designed in such a way to give us the introduction to snow shoeing and cross-country skiing early in the week to allow us opportunities to continue practising in our free time. I feel its good to highlight how basecamp was eco friendly. The heating throughout the complex of wooden lodges relied totally on nature using wood pellets for fuel and was delivered via underground heating. All water was recycled and our meals were prepared from locally sourced ingredients such as fresh salmon, elk, and local berries picked for adding to deserts.

Most Inspirational Moment

The stunning surrounds of the National Parks, knee deep in snow with a great group of fellow travellers.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader was exceptional - a passionate advocate for the nature he helped us discover, gave expert tuition for the new skills we needed - all delivered with great humour and sense of fun.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don’t think twice about this trip - if you love nature, discovering the great outdoors, and want to feel safe learning new skills - it’s a must!

Suggestions

A perfect weeek

Most Inspirational Moment

Everything - I couldn't just pick one thing. The excursions were outstanding, especially the Husky Dog Sledging which was definitely a highlight. The scenery was unbelievable and picture-postcard perfect. The guidance from Martti and Anton for the snowshoeing and cross-country skiing was professional and encouraging and full of fun and interesting facts. A session of Sauna Yoga with Nina was the perfect end to a physical day - and she was patient, bubbly and encouraging and obviously loved what she was teaching us and eager for us to enjoy it too.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Martti was brilliant, a real coup for Exodus! He had a great sense of humour, was knowledgeable and you can tell he loves his job. He was consistently patient with everyone when he was teaching us how to ski, snowshoe, etc. He always had little interesting and fun facts to impart to us, whether about the history of Finland, the nature and scenery we were passing or the food we were eating. He also encouraged us to use the equipment in our free time and freely offered advice and maps on placing for us to visit in the surrounding area. Without a doubt, one of the best group leaders I have ever had the pleasure to meet on adventure trips with both Exodus and other companies. We were also fortunate enough to have Anton working with Martti, who was also excellent and very personable. He was jolly and also had a good sense of humour and was very helpful.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Relax, have fun and embrace the experience and everything contained within and around it. Pack lightly - the equipment that Basecamp provided for us worked excellently and kept us very warm and dry. The footwear was so effective at keeping my feet warm and dry that I am now looking to purchase similar for my own personal use back in the UK (I generally suffer from very cold toes when I am out hiking in the UK, but the Solomon boots they provided keep my feet warm and comfortable throughout the trip.

Suggestions

You can be as active as you like on the trip. The included activities mostly finish around 2pm and you then have the choice of relaxing in the sauna, hot-tub, lodge or your room - or going out for more activity using the provided skis and snowshoes etc. There's a great selection of extra payable activities that Martti was able to help us arrange.

Most Inspirational Moment

The last four days of the trip were my favorite- the quinzee building, snow showing walk/hike, huskies and ice climbing.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Martty was great, very knowledgeable and friendly and was around practically 24/7.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Basecamp will give you a thermos, but will ask that you don't put tea or coffee in it only water or squash. It would be useful to know that you should take your own thermos if you don't want hot water or squash. There is no kettle for tea/coffee in the rooms, although there is also tea/coffee available all day in the communal area. The outer wear that is given to the group was worn and old. If you have your own better quality clothing then take that, there is no standard or anything specific about their clothes for the cold temperatures. The bar closes at 10pm, and there is no drinking up time and you can't take drinks back to your room, or bring your own.

Suggestions

I was disappointed with the description on the Exodus website that inferred we'd see the northern lights nearly everyday, and with the main photo of the trip which is of a landscape which is only possible to see if you opt to go on the optional snow shoeing trip. I thought these were misleading. The food was amazing and there was loads of it

Most Inspirational Moment

There were several highlights, but I spent the last day completing a local hiking trail alone in the forest and snow. It was stunningly pretty, and an achievement to complete.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Marti was great. Hard working, trying his best to accommodate various requests for activities, and a good combination of looking after us and getting us to explore independently.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The trip notes say that Basecamp supply all outdoor clothing, and you only need evening clothes. This is true, but you might well be more comfortable in your own outdoor or ski clothing that you are familiar with. For our trip, the average temperature was - 15 to - 20 deg C (the same as your freezer!), and a balaclava or covering for chin and cheeks is recommended.

Most Inspirational Moment

At the start of the week we were losing hope of seeing the Northern Lights as our leader expressed he hadn't seen them for about 3 weeks. On our 'Oulanka by night' we snowshoed through the woods and onto the frozen lake where, in other times the Northern Lights would be shining bright above us.... But this was not the case. As we were heading back to Basecamp we spotting what looked to be the start of the Lights ... so we all stayed for 15 minutes longer but they did not really develop. We all decided we would go back to Basecamp and then head back down to the Lake in about an hours time and hopefully they would be brighter. As soon as we were back in the cabins and starting to take off our gear, we got THE KNOCK. The staff offer to knock on your cabin door if the Lights appear so we all opted in for this. This was definitely the most exciting part of the trip for me as it has been one of my bucket list dreams to see the Northern Lights. It was really funny because everyone - including myself, was so excited and rushing around trying to get their kit back on so we could go down to the lake as quickly as possible. Luckily our leader told me to change the settings on my phone so that the camera would pick up the night sky and i managed to get some amazing photos that I will treasure forever.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oh Martii! Martii was our leader for the week and he was awesome. He was full of knowledge and had numerous stories to tell. He knew how to persuade us to do things we didn't even know we wanted to do. He was relaxed, friendly and worked every single day of our trip. All of the staff were really lovely, Bar Staff, Kitchen Staff and anyone else who was helping out.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I took too many clothes!! You really do only need a couple of warm base layers and everything else is provided. I ended up wearing the same few items of clothing pretty much all week. I did take my own snow boots and coat which came in handy for when we handed back our equipment but still wanted to stand out in -11°C watching the Northern Lights on the last night. We didn't need too much cash as you can pay the room bill via card. We took cash mainly to tip the staff at the end of the trip - If i had more cash on me I would've definitely tipped more as they all deserved it!

Suggestions

I really enjoyed the Dog Sledging - upgrading the to 20km is definitely worth it. The doggies are so excited and are just raring to get going and run like the wind! The Reindeer Farm was a fun morning out, the Reindeer ride was short but sweet and did make us chuckle. The food in Basecamp was always delicious, There wasn't one meal i didn't enjoy. They cater for all sorts of diets and allergens so you don't need to take any food with you at all. I was worried about mixing with the group all week but everyone was so lovely and it was great to meet people from all sorts of backgrounds. I do miss sitting around the table with everyone and having a good laugh. It was hard coming back home to reality after such an amazing week that I will never ever forget!

Most Inspirational Moment

I have never skied of any type before but I gave it a go after Martti (our group leader) showed us how it was done. I was going down little hills without falling over by the end of the week. Watching the Northern Lights appear and move in the sky was fascinating.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Martti was a brilliant group leader. He was always around when we needed him. He has a great sense of humour and made us laugh throughout the week. Nothing is too much trouble.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Give everything a go. The quinzee building was great fun and people on our tour stayed in them all night- I wish I had now. You don't need much cash, as everywhere takes card. Take your own flash so you can fill up with tea or coffee to take on your outings.

Suggestions

The food was delicious and catered for vegetarian and gluten free diets. The people on our tour were lovely and we all shared our photos of each other.

Most Inspirational Moment

Dogsledding was thrilling. (Definitely worth upgrading to the 20K route.) It was so exciting to drive and be driven through that lovely scenery, with the most excited dogs we've ever encountered! I loved being able to "hike", using snowshoes, on a variety of trails. These were quiet and magical, but also well resourced with shelters and firepits. My husband enjoyed practising cross-country skiing, and he bravely slept in the quinzee.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Martti is a very good leader. He's an excellent instructor, with a fund of stories and a nice quirky sense of humour; also hard-working and really well-planned. His enthusiasm was inspiring. He often went out of his way for us and was generous with equipment to suit individual needs and activities.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Basecamp really does provide plenty of kit, as in the Trip Notes, so that you only need baselayers and whatever clothes you want for the evenings. On the free afternoon in Ruka, we decided to snowshoe, and Martti recommended the Valtavaara winter trail. In mild March weather, this was quiet, well-marked and manageable, and the steep climb was rewarded by fabulous panoramic views. It's a really enjoyable option and only costs the price of the gondola.