Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Travelogue
B1
Finland:
w,
Reindeer ste wax,
e
th
g
learnin
and a week s
sauna
of welcome
‘Living vicariously through the adventures of our friends’
‘It is billed as the longest cross country ski event in the world. I heard about Rahalta Rajalle Hiihto in
November, immediately wanted to do it, and booked my trip. I had some apprehensions but rationalized
that I since I am not getting any younger and am a cancer survivor, that this was the trip for me.’
Border to Border ski: Finding solitude and
friendship in a week’s Arctic Circle trek
By JULIANA CUYLER DOLAN
The Rahalta Rajalle Hiih-
to is a classic (kick and
glide) cross country ski
event that crosses Finland
from the Russian border to
the Swedish border along
the Arctic Circle. It is an
event similar to Cycle Ore-
gon and is now in its 32nd
year. Rajalta Rajalle (RR)
skiers sign up for one of
four consecutive departure
dates in early March and ski
up to 440 kilometers (km) in
seven days. Each RR group
consists of up to 100 skiers
from all over the world and
from all ability and experi-
ence levels. Mileage each
day ranges from 40 to 88 km.
There are service points
along the trail every 15 km
or so. Most service or rest
stops have a campfire and a
table of snacks. Some have
teepees (“Lapland tents”) or
a warming hut inside of
which skiers can shelter or
rest.
I have never traveled with
so much luggage in my life.
My bags include a giant suit-
case, a small suitcase, a ski
bag stuffed with two pairs of
skis, poles and boots, a giant
jacket that won’t fit in any-
where so I have to wear it, a
carry on and a small knap-
sack. When I check in for
my flight in Seattle, the
giant suitcase is overweight
so I ditch a couple of 2-
pound bags of trail mix and
dried cranberries. It turns
out that I will use every-
thing I brought and buy an-
other bag to transport sou-
venirs back home. It also
turns out that the Helsinki
airport has a bag storage of-
fice and I happily trade
Euros for the opportunity to
ditch my largest suitcase
and my ski bag while in
Helsinki.
I fly from Seattle through
Iceland to Helsinki, Finland,
and arrive the next day.
Ruth Berkowitz (from Port-
land and part time Hood
River) joins me at our hotel
later that evening. We spend
the next two days being
tourists in lovely Helsinki.
We both agree that people
who live there “have it
made.” Everything works so
efficiently, from hand towel
dispensers in the bathrooms
to the trolley system. The
air is clear and clean, there
are beautiful landscapes in
the city with lots of fresh
and salt water access, and
everyone seems to be physi-
cally fit and bursting with
health.
Friday, March 6 —
Destination: Oivanki
After two days, we return
to the airport, pick up and
consolidate our stored lug-
gage, and board a plane for
an hour and half flight to
Kuusamo, which is a tiny
airport on the Arctic Circle
near the Russian/Finnish
border and a gateway to ski
resort country. As we exit
the plane, we see lots of
snow, a welcome sight after
a barren winter in the Pacif-
ic Northwest and the visit to
an unusually mild and
snowless Helsinki. In fact,
it’s snowing, foggy and blow-
ing, and it’s cold! I feel like
I’ve landed on the North
Pole and wonder if I can
handle this trip at all.
We get transport to Oivan-
ki, a summer/winter “sports
camp” where the RR is to
begin. Ruth and I check in to
our bunk room and are ex-
cited to take a late afternoon
ski around the trails ringing
the camp. It’s flurrying
lightly and the air is crisp
and cold. We discuss skiing
out on the lake near the cab-
ins but decide not to when
we see an open water hole in
the ice near the shore, not
knowing if the ice is frozen
solid. Later I see a naked
woman sprinting for this
water and realize it’s a cold
plunge for the sauna.
After more ski explo-
ration, taking a sauna and,
of course, the cold plunge,
and dinner, we meet for our
orientation and formal in-
troduction to our fellow
skiers and support staff who
have been arriving all day.
Our group, the “RR #3,” con-
sists of a mixture of skiers
from Finland, Spain, Andor-
ra, Slovenia, Germany, Swe-
den, Denmark, Norway, the
Netherlands, and New
Zealand. Ruth and I are two
of six Americans. English is
the most common language,
but not everyone speaks it. I
am happy that I am able to
speak some Spanish as well.
Every RR group has a differ-
ent national makeup. We are
the RR #3, leaving on the
third of four consecutive
days.
Near and Far
This spring and summer, Hood River News’ Kaleidoscope will
feature places in our own backyard. Look for places as disparate
as Finland and Borneo, as we begin a new rotation of “Travel-
ogues” written by local residents. This recurring feature strives to
go beyond a vacation report, and looks at adventures, service
projects or other involved experiences that readers would be will-
ing to write about and provide high resolution photos. If you
would like to submit your idea about recent travel or a planned
adventure for Travelogues, email hrnews@hoodrivernews. Since
we rely on the traveler to write the article, we ask that the sug-
gestion come directly from the traveler; if you have a friend you
think did something interesting, ask them to contact us.
After a weather report for
snow in the afternoon the
next day and changeable
temperatures, we head to
the waxing room. Once
there, I quickly decide to
give the snooty wax guy my
Euros and skis to be waxed
for the next day, rather than
jockeying for wax table
space. I end up taking night-
ly advantage of the waxing
service supplied by various
professionals from the com-
munities through which we
travel. The RR is a big event
for this rural area of Fin-
land and is a short opportu-
nity for people to earn extra
money, the hotel workers,
waxers, trail groomers, mas-
sage therapists, and bus dri-
vers who support and attend
to us. The RR provides a lit-
tle bump in their winter
economy.
See TRAVEL, Page B3
JULIANA CUYLER DOLAN, top right, and her friend, Ruth Berkowitz, prepare for a day of skiing. Dolan writes at one point:
“The morning is a bluebird day — about 4 inches of new snow and blue skies. We take a big group photo and we all set off
together in a line of skiers, which is an unusual event on this trip. The snow covered birches are breathtaking today and we
are often on a narrow single track through the woods. This is the kind of skiing I love.” She would find delightful solitude for
hours each day, while enjoying food and friendship at the overnight stops and on the support buses. Days were tiring, yet the
experience was invigorating: “At some rest stops, local people come to visit and interact with foreigners. One woman brought
her two preschoolers and her teenage son to see if they could meet some Americans. One elementary school class arrives in
two taxis to meet us. There is a polar bear mascot at one stop and one boy brings his pet reindeer for us Arctic tourists to
enjoy.” Dolan works as a Speech Language Pathologist and English Language Learner Program Coordinator at Stevenson Car-
son School District. She moved to Hood River in 1994 with her husband, Joe, a teacher at HRMS. They have two daughters,
ages 15 and 18. Juiliana, who is a breast cancer survivor, learned to ski at age of 3; the whole family skis downhill and Nordic
and the girls race for HRV Nordic Team.