Conditions Report
Report from February 13-16, 2024
Levi, Finland, has been on my bucket list for a while, so when the opportunity arose to ski in Levi, I jumped at it. If I had known Levi was so much more than skiing, I would have stayed longer, but this way I have the best excuse to go back. Aside from the 44 groomed runs, Levi also features 250km (156 miles) of groomed cross-country trails, 886km (554 miles) of snowmobiling trails, and 28km (17.5 miles) of winter walking trails. Our hotel even had complimentary snowshoes, which I did not get around to using as I did have other obligations during my stay, but I will be back to make use of them next time!
Levi is located in Lapland in the north of Finland, close to the Arctic Circle. Levi sees on average around one meter of snow each year and this year is no exception. If anything, it has been colder in Finland than in the past 25 years. In January, temperatures in Lapland dropped to a record low of -44.3°C (-47.7°F) according to Finland’s Meteorological Institute. Temperatures below -42°C (43.6°F) have only been recorded three times this century in Lapland. While we did not go below -20°C (-4°F) during our stay, it did remain brutally cold, partly because the sun never rises high above the horizon and always seems to be either rising or setting, depending on the time of day. It makes for some incredible light effects for photographs, but also means the sun is never strong enough to melt the snow off structures, trees, and lifts. Everything seems permanently frosted and you feel transported to the Disney movie Frozen. The native reindeer of course help to make the fairytale landscape perfect.
Getting to Levi is incredibly easy: there is an airport, Kittilä, just 15 minutes from the resort. With a resort that is walkable, you don’t have the need for a car really either, so we just took a taxi from the airport to Levi. Thankfully, many taxis are minivans and easily accommodate four pairs of skis and four suitcases.
After checking into the hotel, we put on our ski gear and headed straight to the ticket center at Zero Point. Since it was already 2 p.m., we opted for the 3-hour pass for only €43 ($46) and took the North six-chair to explore the Front Slopes in Levi. The Front Slopes have two chairlifts, one gondola, and four surface lifts that service this area. At the top is a restaurant, Horizont, which serves the best hot chocolate with colorful marshmallows and slatherings of whipped cream. We did need one after two chairlifts as it was freezing cold and we were pretty hungry from our journey. We had a late lunch before heading back out again for some more runs.
The next day we got a 3-day lift pass for €136.50 ($147) — so less than $50 per day — and explored more of the resort. With my personal tour guide (thank you, Marko), we explored the whole mountain, traveling counter-clockwise towards the Northeast Slopes to the South Slopes, where Marko showed me the resort’s facilities for kids. From nursery slopes to the indoor play center, Leevilandia has everything to keep the smallest guests entertained. There is also a tobogganing area at South Point. The slopes in the south feature several terrain parks, from Mini Park to Junior Park to South Park, with World Cup-level jumps and a small half pipe. Lastly, we skied to the West Slopes which features Levi’s most modern chairlift, a six-chair by Doppelmayr with a capacity of 3,000 people per hour. The West Slopes are home to the Levi Black or G2 run, which is the location of the annual FIS Alpine World Cup.
Related: Mikaela Shiffrin Claims Slalom Victory and 7th Reindeer at Levi, Finland
On Thursday it became a bit more overcast but with it, temperatures got a little bit milder than before. We explored the North East one more time and tried out different on-mountain dining options. We also visited a reindeer farm and warmed up in a good old Finnish sauna, which seems to be a staple in every hotel and holiday apartment.
On Friday my bucket list item was to ski to the World Cup gondola and catch a Mikaela Shiffrin gondola, which I managed to achieve on my second attempt. With seven World Cup victories and thus seven gondolas with Mikaela’s name in Levi, my odds were pretty good. Unfortunately, visibility was quite poor that day, so the World Cup course had some extra challenges thrown in. However, that did not keep me from doing several runs on the Levi Black run, which has a really nice, steep section at the end.
All in all, it was a memorable trip to Levi and my only regret is not having had more time to see and do more. Also, due to other commitments, I did not see the Northern Lights, but even more reason to come back to Levi next season!
Snow Conditions
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