Ruka, The Finnish Winter Wonderland (Ruka)

Member Name: AgentBen

Product:	Ruka
Date:	18/07/09 (11 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good snow, snowboard friendly, snowpark

Disadvantages: Can get really cold in Dec/Jan

Ruka in northern Finland is a fantastic winter resort for skiers and snowboarders alike. It is a proper winter wonderland.

The majority of lifts are T bar or chair lift. The front can get busy at high season but if you are happy to roam the resort rather than stick to the main piste then there are runs through the woods that are fabulous. The majority of people we saw seemed to be either Finnish or Russian but there was the occasional Brit.

Snow is pretty much guarenteed for both Christmas and Easter holidays as the resort is inside the arcitc circle. They claim in the resort that you can ski until June although I've not seen that although there are plenty of snow making facilities if mother nature doesn't oblige so I wouldn't doubt it.

There are plenty of runs and lifts that cover the mountain and there is the well equipped Battery Snowpark for the more extreme among us. On the down side it can get really cold. -25 celcius when I was last there at Xmas so you do need to pack extra thermals and remember to layer properly but there are plenty of bars and restaurants to go to get warmed up. It's much less extreme as the season progresses and easter usually falls more in line with more southerly european resorts but the runs aren't as long as more southerly european resorts either so you do get a chance to warm up.

The Apres Ski at any of the bars is fantastic. I would recommend the Mintu cacao. There are also plenty of restaurants ranging from pizza through to traditional finnish dishes. These are all very good value.

I love Ruka and keep going back

Summary: Great all round resort with fantastic snow.Highly recommended