The organisers of the Salpausselkä races prepared well in advance for a mild winter. The trails for the main Finlandia skiing events are in good condition, but the traditional route had to be cancelled this year.
The traditional Finlandia ski race from Hämeenlinna to Lahti, which will take place at the end of February, had to be cancelled on Wednesday due to poor snow conditions.
The mild weather messed up the preparations for Tradition-Finlandia, as the route is mostly off-road, where the tracks have to be primed and pulled separately. The terrain is very marshy in places and there are lakes along the route.
However, the shorter runs of the Finlandia ski races in Lahti and Hollola will be held as planned this year. The tracks in the area are in top condition, and most of the trails were already prepared last year.
– There is a very good snow situation in the Lahti and Hollola area. This winter, there is no need to worry. It has been freezing since November and the snow came on time, Floor estimates.
Finlandia skiing takes place at the end of February.
No threat to the Salpausselkä races
The rain and mild weather of the past few days do not threaten the Salpausselkä Games organized in March either.
– It must be such a monsoon that they would completely freeze. We trust that they will last, says Ahokas.
– There is a small period of frost looming here, during which we can make even more cannon snow.
Last winter, Lahti stored around 20,000 cubic meters of snow under sawdust for the first slopes of autumn. These snows have already thinned to the now ready slopes.
The new warehouse will be filled once the Salpausselkä competitions have been organized. In World Cup years, the entire network of race tracks would need a multiple amount of snow in storage, around 60,000–70,000 cubic meters.
The organizers of Finlandia skiing also rely on Lahti’s snow storage. Anton Floor says that the people of Finlandia are now creating snowballs so that the road crossings and known problem spots can be prepared for the skiing event in a month.
*You can discuss the topic until 23:00 on Friday 20 January 2023.*
*The matter was corrected on January 20, 2023 at 8:45 a.m.: Corrected the error in the thickness of Salpauselkä’s track soles.*