DURATION
3 nights
LOCATION
Finland
ANNUAL LEAVE
3 days off work
SEASON
Dec-Mar
GROUP SIZE
Up to 12 people
MEETING POINT
Rovaniemi Airport, Finland
ACCOMMODATION
Classic
Cabin
DIFFICULTY
Moderate
There's a lot going on during this trip - snowshoeing, climbing, hiking - but a basic level of fitness will handle it all.
Head beyond the Arctic Circle and into the frosty landscape of the Pyhä-Luosto National Park
Don your crampons and ice axes and climb the Korouoma Canyon, the highest ice wall in Finland
Chase and learn how to photograph the aurora borealis – it's wildfire in the sky
Day 1
The adventure begins
Hiking
2hrs · 1km · 70m up · 70m down
Head into the Finnish wilderness and settle into a cabin in the woods, where your guide will lay out the plan for the next few days. After a welcome dinner with your fellow adventurers, wrap up well and head outside in search of the spectacular aurora borealis. Your guides will bring tripods along and teach you how to successfully photograph the Northern Lights in all their glory.
Day 2
Trek and snowshoe the Pyhä-Luosto National Park
Snowshoeing
5hrs · 9km · 400m up · 400m down
Ice Climbing
2.5hrs · 600m
Clip on your snowshoes and hike out into the Pyhä-Luosto National Park - a snowy wilderness of frozen valleys, ravines and tunturis, the remnants of 2 billion-year-old mountains. Take a break around midday for a campfire lunch and then return to the cabin to warm up. In the afternoon, you’ll try your hand at ice climbing and learn how to use axes and crampons to successfully ascend a frozen waterfall. Back at the cabin, you’ll pack for tomorrow’s adventure before unwinding in a steaming hot sauna. Don’t forget to check outside for the aurora.
Day 3
Ice climb the Korouoma Canyon
Ice Climbing
4-5hrs · 600m
Wake up early and drive to the Korouoma Canyon, one of the top climbing destinations in Lapland, where you’ll face off against the highest ice wall in the country. Spend the day honing your skills on the high quality ice at Charlie Brown and Mammoth until you’re climbing like a natural. In the afternoon you’ll hike across a landscape of frozen creeks and thick evergreen forest searching for animal tracks in the fresh snow. You’ll learn tips on how to build a fire in the arctic and then undertake a truly Finnish experience, as your guide cuts a hole through the lake ice so you can take a ‘refreshing’ dip before heating up in the nearby sauna!
Day 4
Time to go home
After a last breakfast in your cabin, catch the Skibus back to the airport and return home with some incredible stories and pictures to share with your friends.
Included
Guides
Expert, friendly, English-speaking guides
Accommodation
3 nights in a genuine Lapland cabin
Meals
Delicious and filling Finnish cooking
Transfers
To and from the airport and everything in between
Equipment
All the snowshoeing and ice climbing equipment you'll need
Not Included
Flights to and from the meeting point
Travel insurance
Personal expenses
Visas where required
Day 1
Cabin · Twin or triple share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2 – Day 3
Cabin · Twin or triple share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 4
Departure day
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
Finnish food is delicious, blending traditional and modern continental cuisine. Dishes commonly include fish, pork, beef or reindeer, but also involve lots of vegetables and mushrooms. The hotel restaurant also serves American-style food like burgers, chicken, ribs and nachos, as well as Lappish specialities like salmon, reindeer stew and reindeer steak.
Vegetarians, vegans and other dietary requirements and allergies can be catered for - please just request on your passenger info form.
What is the accommodation like?
Pyhä
You'll be staying in a cabin in the woods – the genuine Lapland way! After a day of Arctic adventures, it is blissful to step into the warm ambience of a cabin in the woods, and enjoy roaring fires and a sauna. Your host uses a selection of woodland cabins of different sizes and occasionally your group may be divided between two cabins.
The cabins are equipped with clothes dryers, a shared kitchen with facilities such as a filter coffee maker, electric kettle, microwave oven, 24/7 complimentary WiFi, WCs and a shower. A nutritious buffet breakfast will be available to keep explorers fuelled. There is also a communal lounge area to relax in during the evenings. You will typically stay in twin or triple rooms (with a shared bathroom). Double rooms are available on request.
Should you wish to book additional nights' accommodation in Pyhä before or after the trip, we recommend booking Hotel Pyhätunturi as this is located close to the ski bus stop and within walking distance of the slopes.
Upgrades
For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private room can be booked for an extra charge, see Optional Extras for the price. Please request this at the time of booking (this is subject to availability).
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Last Skibus stop in Pyhä
No later than 20:15 on Day 1
Ends
Skibus stop in Pyhä
Any time on Day 4
Transfers
Round-trip airport transfers on the SkiBus are included or you can upgrade to a private transfer, see Optional Extras below. From Rovaniemi Airport (RVN) board the Skibus to its last stop in Pyhä where your guides will meet you. The Skibus travels between the airport and Pyhä several times a day. Check the updated timetable. Catch the 18:05 bus at the latest on Day 1. Travel time: 2 hours.
Travel options
There are regular flights to Rovaniemi Airport (RVN) from major airports across the UK and Europe.
Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear
In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.
What's included?
All the snowshoeing and ice climbing equipment you'll need
What do I need to bring?
- Waterproof and windproof top and bottom
- Insulated/ Down jacket
- Warm fleece or sweater
- Thermal top and bottom
- 2 pairs of gloves
- Warm hat and/or balaclava
- Neck gaiter or scarf
- Multiple pairs of wool or synthetic socks
- Warm, waterproof boots (of similar type to 'Sorel Caribou' snow boots)
- Swimsuit (seriously)
Padded Insulated Jacket
Payable Before Departure
Padded Insulated Jacket
…
Winter Boots
Payable Before Departure
Winter Boots
…
Optional Private Room Upgrade
Payable Before Departure
Optional Private Room Upgrade
…
Private Airport Transfer (min. 3 people)
Payable Before Departure
Private Airport Transfer (min. 3 people)
… Per Person
I’ve done quite a few MBA trips and this by far is my favourite one to date. It’s one action packed weekend, from snowshoeing to climbing up ice walls, finishing off with a sauna and frozen lake dip. It felt like I was away for much longer. The scenery is just magical, it’s just you and the snowy landscape in the middle of the mountains. It’s such a unique experience and I stepped completely out of my comfort zone but I’d recommend it to everyone I know!
The ice climbing is tough but the guides are very patient and talk you through it step by step, I didn’t feel any pressure to hurry or feel unsafe. The hike up to the frozen waterfall is a little steep but manageable, I was slow hiking up but I had someone with me the whole time.
The cold temperatures are nothing to worry about either, the guides make sure that everyone is warm and they provide an extra down jacket whilst you’re waiting to climb, the hot tea provided also helps too! It’s certainly a trip you’ll always remember, just book it!
This was an amazing trip with beautiful and incredible scenery, activities and experiences. Our guides, Tiina, Sandels and Antonin were outstanding and really made our trip perfect. They had expert knowledge, made us feel safe and went above and beyond to make the trip special. Looking forward to booking another trip with MBA :)
I couldn't recommend this trip highly enough. Thank you Tiina, Sandals and Antona for making it unforgettable!
Fabulous trip packed full with activities, although we never at any point felt rushed or that we wouldn't get enough time to do anything. The Bliss team hosting us were fantastic, super friendly and full of information, including providing us with additional activities we could do on the last day before our flights home. The small kit list is very real - the team really do provide you with everything you need and more!
This was a fantastic trip which really maximised the short duration with no wasted hanging around time. Thanks so much to Inessa, Santeri and Anthony who looked after us so well and made the trip run really smoothly. You guys took such great care of us, giving us hot drinks and extra layers and it felt really safe doing the climbing with you.
The trip was bursting with amazing authentic Finnish experiences and the landscapes were stunning. It was also lovely that we did everything mentioned in the itinerary nothing was skipped out or forgotten about. There wasn't much travel time between things so it really felt like we were active and doing stuff most of the time. If you get a late flight back there was also the option to add another activity on the last day - almost all of my group did a fat biking experience which was easily organised by the guides for us, and a lot of fun.
Top Adventure! Great Company and the best Guides you can ask for! Safety on first place, a lot of knowledge and absolutely amazed! Tiina, Inessa, Antoni - top class ! Is a must experience when in Lapland ! Ice Climbing, Snowshoeing, Sauna, food, etc etc everything was top class and they cared about every smallest detail ! Top Adventure, Top Guides, Top Company ! What more you can ask for ?
Thoroughly reccomend! We saw the northern lights, and climbed to the top of an ice waterfall. Our guides Tiina, Inessa and Antonin were great and made the whole thing really special. Thank you so much guys!x
Fantastic trip with a diverse range of activities from relaxing saunas to climbing frozen waterfalls in the spectacular Korouoma Canyon and seeing the first Northern Lights of the year! We were spoilt with two fantastic and highly engaging guides, Tiina (who also brought her rescue dog) and Kai who ensured everyone was safe by providing extra gear to those that might require it.
This was my second trip as a solo traveler, but you meet some great like minded thrill-seekers on these trips, so don’t let traveling solo put you off! This trip has ignited a passion in me to seek out more ice-climbing and mountain climbing trips. No better way to start the year, 10/10 experience!
The trip of a lifetime! We had such an amazing time, everything from the accommodation, food, activities, guides, to the people we met was just amazing. Breathtaking views in the Korouoma canyon and the Pyhä-Luosto national park, we loved the ice climbing, and our guides Tiina and Kai were super knowledgeable, caring and fun. Wouldn't change a thing - we did the trip over the New Years and it was a truly unforgettable experience.
An unforgettable new year's experience (for once)! Simply so much fun. Our guides, Tiina and Kai, were quiet exceptional at ensure we were all very comfortable - even providing extra gear if needed. Simply trekking through Korouoma canyon would be memorable enough, but to be able to climb some 30+ metre frozen waterfalls makes this a truly unique adventure. A MUST do if you have a modicum of adventurous spirit!
Most days of adventuring usually involve 8-12 hours of activity. The fact that our main day started at 5am then finished at midnight, with me still raring to do more, shows just how exhilarating and fun this trip is!
We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 69kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
- A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
To enjoy the snowshoeing and ice climbing a basic level of fitness is needed, however no previous experience is required.
Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
Winter in northern Finland is very cold, so be prepared for a truly arctic experience! In January and February temperatures range from -18°C to -8°C. In March and April it warms up a bit, ranging from -13°C to 3°C, with snowy days around half the time. Days are very short, but that just increases your chances of seeing the Northern Lights!
Ice climbing is the sport of climbing up ice walls with the aid of equipment like ice axes and crampons. Like rock climbing, you have a harness, rope and belayer to prevent you from falling. Unlike rock climbing, however, you can use your tools to carve hand and footholds wherever you need them. Also, ice climbing is not as arm-intensive at it looks. Your guides will show you how to do most of the climbing with your legs.
The climbing will keep you warm on the wall, and while you’re down at the base your guides will provide you with puffy down jackets and hot drinks to keep warm.
Your hosts are true winter adventure pros. They have been guides and leaders on trips around the world, and have gone on expeditions to Antarctica and Nepal. Their guides all have a minimum of Rope Activity Instructor certification, and many are also certified Ice Climbing Instructors.
Round-trip airport transfers on the SkiBus are included in your costs, or you can upgrade to a private transfer for an additional £54.
The Skibus travels between the airport and Pyhä several times a day. Check the updated timetable. Catch the 18:05 bus at the latest. Travel time: 2 hours.
To find the bus, exit the airport through the main doors; the bus stop is 30m away. The bus driver will already have your reservation. Show your passport and you’re good to go. The 5th and final stop is right in front of your hotel.
Any excess luggage you bring with you can be safely left in your accommodation while you are out adventuring.
Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.
Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our adventures and you are required to provide your policy information before departing.
Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure. We also strongly recommend it includes cancellation and curtailment insurance, should you be unable to join your trip for specific reasons such as illness.
We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last-minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.
You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.
Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.
Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.
Pay In Installments
You can choose to pay for this trip in as many installments as you like, with no interest or fees.
Full Financial Protection
Your money is safe. Every booking is fully financially protected.
