Finland’s First 8-Person Chair to Open at Ruka Ski Resort This December

Ruka Ski Resort in Finland will be opening its first 8-chair on the new Masto’s ski area. The Leitner chair “Masto III” will have a capacity of 4,000 people per hour and will travel at a speed of 6 m/s, making it Finland’s fastest chairlift. The trip to the top of the Masto ski area will only take 2 minutes. The project increases Ruka’s ski lift capacity by 15%.

The opening of the new 8-chair and the new Masto’s ski area will be celebrated on the long weekend from December 6-10, 2023. December 6 marks Finland’s Independence Day which celebrates Finland’s declaration of independence from the Russian Empire in 1917.

The Masto’s ski area will have four new ski slopes and the area’s snowmaking capacity was boosted with the purchase of 40 new snow cannons. The total investment for the project comes to €14 million (USD 15 million). The four new slopes will improve connections to the slopes of Vuosseli and Kelo, and in addition, a Snow Valley (‘Tykkylaakso’ in Finnish) will be built in the area. The new Masto’s ski area will increase the number of slopes in Ruka by 10%.

The complete renovation of the Masto’s ski area has gone according to schedule. The chair lift is finished and ready for operation, however, works on the slopes in the Masto’s ski area are still ongoing and the entire area will remain closed until the upcoming Independence Day opening.

Prior to the Independence Day long weekend, Ruka will be home to the FIS Freestyle Moguls World Cup, which will see the world’s best mogul skiers battle it out. Ruka’s moguls event is traditionally the opening event of the FIS Moguls Series. Ruka is along with Levi, Finland, the first non-glacier resort to open for the ski season in Europe each year, and is also the first Northern Hemisphere resort to open each year.

Prior to the completion of the Masto’s project, the Ruka ski area possessed roughly 100 snow cannons, so the increase of 40 snow cannons represents an increase of almost 50% in snowmaking capacity. Combined with an early start to winter in Finland, conditions at Ruka are fabulous and many slopes can open earlier than anticipated at Ruka. The goal is to open Tykkylaakso, Masto I, and Masto II on December 6, 2023, and Fun Slope on December 15, 2023. Almost all other slopes in Ruka will be open for skiing and boarding from early December, most of them already in November.

Ruka has been busy updating the resort for more than 20 years, following the Ruka Masterplan created by the Canadian Ecosign planning office. This masterplan has turned Ruka into a year-round, internationally attractive mountain resort with two pedestrian villages and a network of Express chairlifts. Ruka’s villages have been designed to enable family friendly holidays without the need of a car. In the summer of 2022, two new slopes and lifts designed for children and families, Mini Ruka and Ruka Park Junior, were built in Ruka’s popular Vuosseli and Bistro area. The investments in 2022 were in addition to the existing children’s slope, Family Park, and indoor play area, Kids’ Club. The Masto’s ski area will expand on Ruka’s family-friendly concept.