There is a new version of the Levi resort review available on the new snowchasers site
Fancy seeing the northern lights, a trip to see Santa or just some serious riding on dry powder? Then Levi is worth considering.
Levi is located in Finnish Lapland 150 miles above the Arctic circle, the temperature here has been known to drop as low as -55 centigrade so adequate layering is required. We went at the end of January and had one day at -35 the rest of the week was a little warmer with temperatures ranging up to -11. These temperatures may sound unbearable, but they make for very good dry snow conditions and give the place a true winter wonderland feel. The resort is set up to cater for the weather with teepees situated at the bottom of most of the runs. Each teepee has a fire in the centre with plenty of fire wood inside to keep the fires going, fire marshals patrol the slopes and ensure these are well maintained. I would recommend taking extra layers with you in case of sudden drops in temperature and hand warmers inside your gloves work well. The accommodation options in Levi all cater well for the cold with underfloor heating and saunas in most.
We stayed in Levilehto chalets, about a 5 minute walk to the bus stop and front slope. The chalet was well heated and included a sauna, dishwasher and washing machine. We had red squirrels playing in the trees outside our window and had a clear view of the northern lights due to the low lighting conditions on the site. The night life here is fairly non-existent although there are a couple of pubs, and a good selection of restaurants. This makes it a good place for families, but if it is nights on the town that your after you wont find much here. We booked our holiday with Inghams for the very reasonable price of £560 each. This included 7 nights accommodation in the chalet, lift passes, flights, insurance and a 15 minute bus transfer from Kittila airport to the resort.
There is a regular free bus that goes all the way around the bottom of the fell giving you the option of going straight up the front slope and over the top to which ever run you want, or catching the bus around to the bottom of the run you want to start on. Levi is a small resort with 27 lifts (mostly T-bar, but no lift queues) servicing 44 runs. The majority of the runs are beginner to intermediate although there is a world cup black run and a well maintained snow park on the front slope with both a man made and natural half pipe along with some large kickers. Levi boasts 28km of flood lit terrain, this is due to the limited daylight hours associated with being so far north. All the slopes open at 10am and close at around 6.30pm with the exception of the front slope, which stays open until 8pm. The number of daylight hours you get per day will depend on the time of year that you decide to visit, in late January the sun came up around 11am and went down around 3pm. This makes night boarding the norm here with good flood lighting on nearly all of the slopes.
I would recommend this resort to those who are looking for something a little different, there is plenty of terrain available to keep beginner or intermediate riders well entertained. Advanced riders may struggle to keep themselves happy for more than a week, there is some good tree riding to be had in the powder and the flood lit snow park provides a bit of challenge for those suicidal riders out there.
For more detailed information about Levi, including information on climate and daylight hours see www.levi-lapland.com
Videos of the world cup black run and various other runs around Levi:
