It’s been a while since we made it to the slopes, what with a little thing called COVID getting in the way. So with our fit to fly tests in hand we excitedly prepared for a trip to Pyhä in the Arctic Circle.

With multiple sets of face masks and thermals packed we didn't envisage any clothing dilemmas but as the week progressed and the  temperature rose from a  bone chilling -18°C  to an almost tropical +4°C we were left wondering where we could locate our shorts. It seemed nowhere was safe from the devastating effects of climate change! 

Not that any of this would be news to the staff at  Pyhä ski resort who in 2009 began forming an environmental plan to become  “The cleanest ski resort in the world’. Admittedly flying into Rovaniemi airport was not the greenest of starts to our fact finding eco-mission but from here on in we promised to up our green game. This started by taking the public bus to the virtually traffic free centre of Pyhä where a few cars were fueling up in the  electric charging points. Within sight of here we  saw a recycling station, a shop, a restaurant, a ski shop and our slopeside accommodation the carbon neutral  Pyhälinna apartments. Outside in the wider Pyhä-Luosto National Park lay a wood chip fuelled energy plant and solutions designed to reduce the consumption of energy, such as air source heat pumps. Tired from all this talk of hot air we settled down for the night by taking a relaxing Finnish sauna where  we switched on the pre-set sauna timer designed to auto switch off after 40 minutes saving both energy and heat.

 

In the morning we briskly walked to the rental shop where the typical arctic temperatures of -18°C  ensured the toastyness of the sauna was soon forgotten. Kitted out with our rental board, boots and helmet it was time to strap in a very big deal after a two year lay off. Riding to the bottom lift station the first thing we noticed after the epic sunrise was that the ski lifts ran entirely on green power producing 0g of CO2. Taking the chairlift to the summit we passed over the widespread installation of snow fences designed to collect natural piles of snow. With 60% of the resorts energy spent on slope maintenance this scheme has vastly reduced the need for snow cannons, saves energy, lessens water consumption and improves the slope quality.

All that snow needs shifting around somehow and the conversion of the piste bashers to  the renewable fuel Neste MY Non Road Diesel™ has reduced the greenhouse gas emissions of by up to 90 percent compared to the use of fossil fuels. Sliding down these perfectly groomed pistes riding snow that mother nature had blessed us with was a beautiful feeling.

Having finally scratched our snowboarding itch we headed to Pyhäntie, a picture postcard collection of red painted houses  where wilderness guides Antti Siltala and Venla Saari  and their three dogs greeted us. Combining their passions they had setup  Outdoor Artisans a company focussed on sustainable tourism.Tearing ourselves aways from their beautiful huskies for a while we began a guided tour of their outdoor office which included a carpentry workshop where Antti was constructing parts for an eco house alongside constructing  boards for a snowsurf camp.  

Antti explained that when the snow levels permit this 4 day course allows guests to shape a snow surfing board, snowshoe into the backcountry and then ride them on the off piste snow. It sounded like an ideal trip with no impact on the environment, we frantically scribbled down the details for a possible return. Joining Antti outside we loaded his sled and prepared for an entirely different excursion into the world of ice fishing!

Crossing the frozen lake to the ice holes Antti explained how the residents of  Pyhäntie have a shared responsibility of the lake and are committed to keeping alive their ice fishing traditions. Using this technique they hand drill the ice holes, set their nets and seal the holes with a frame that freezes over and is uncovered when needed. Fishing in this way has limited impact on the environment and they catch only a sustainable amount of fish so the food source replenishes. Uncovering the ice holes we hand shovelled the snow off the ice hole before breaking through the ice to the fresh water below we then reeled in the nets to see if we had a catch of the day. 
 

The first few holes produced a  few small fish which we saved for the dogs tummies, as we continued to reel in the nets Antti started to grin as he pulled in pike and perch and dropped them into our ice bucket. With enough food for the table it was time to have a go at digging our own ice holes, using the ice drill we drilled through the thick ice and baited our small fishing rods before casting them into the icy depths below. As the arctic winds gathered strength we looked more likely to catch frostbite than  fish so gathering our prized catch we headed back to the kitchen to prepare our dinner for the evening. 
 

Watching Antti expertly debone and de-scale our catch I pondered over his relationship with food and the environment and how these traditional methods had delivered fish from the lake to our plate with no carbon footprint.  Venla on the other hand had her mind on other things as she set about raiding the store cupboard for the extra ingredients of dill and lemon all whilst lighting a fire to boil our fresh coffee. Sitting down to eat, Antti and Venla explained that they had worked hard to create experiences like this that specifically demonstrate how we can work alongside nature to only take what we need from our environment and nothing more. It is a concept you can’t really argue with and I think we could all feel the benefit of slowing down connecting with our environment and trying to live more simply.

Not that a slower pace was on the agenda the next day as sustainable travel company Experience Pyhä had set us the challenge  of riding a snowmobile from the Sunday Morning Resort Hotel to the Kopara reindeer park. Now our first thoughts were what part of riding a gas guzzling snowmobile would be good for the environment, well this being Finland we should have known to expect the unexpected.

Our guide Laura Janhunen gathered us round to explain the basic controls of the snowmobile and then asked us to start our engines. Holding down the power switch we were met with the surprising sound of silence. Rather than checking the engine for faults Laura exclaimed that  “we were sitting on the  world's first fleet of e-snowmobiles made in Finland and available in only three places in the world.” A true WOW moment!

Laura continued to explain that Experience Pyhä specialise in sustainable travel experiences  including snowshoe excursions and electric fat bike rental, whilst The Sunday Morning Resort hotel uses geothermal heating, heat pumps and an excess heat recovery system that keep the hotels emissions too a minimum.

It was all impressive stuff as were the e-snowmobiles which were capable of doing 45km on a single charge. As a beginner I found them a dream to handle, well that is until I got a little cocky with my speed causing the vehicle to drift slightly off the forest tracks into the approaching trees.

With an emergency slam on the brakes the tracks sunk deep into the forest snow inches away from the approaching tree branches. Thankfully Laura was on hand to save my blushes, reversing the machine out safely without so much as a scratch on the pristine body work ( at 35 thousand euros each all we could say was Phew!).

Back on track we rode carefully through the silent landscape and surrounding forest towards the Kopara reindeer park. Leaving our vehicles to charge we headed over to hear a talk about this way of life. The herder explained a few facts about how each herd has an individual symbol which is cut into the ears of their reindeer. We also learnt how they rest sled trekking animals for a few days at a time to keep the animals healthy and still eager to pull the sleds. Outside of the winter season the reindeer are free to roam and they use ski mobiles to keep track of them or maybe as I suggested in the future e-mobiles would help with this. The quality of life of the reindeers is of the utmost importance to the herders and they ensure everything is used from the animals that are killed . As well as eating reindeer meat they use the blood for blood sausages and also drink the milk. The reindeer skins and hides are used in the production of clothing whilst the sinews are used for their sleds. 

Sitting on our sled we glided slowly through the forest and eventually came too a clearing where we watched the reindeers graze on the lichen hidden below the snowy surface. This source of food has been getting harder to access in the era of climate change where the freeze and thaw conditions bury the liche under sheets of ice that make the food in-accessible. With warmer temperatures seeming the norm, manually providing extra food is now essential to keep the reindeers healthy.

Climbing out of the sleigh we stopped to have a personal meet and greet with the herd who unknowingly entered into an agreement of food for photos. It was a poignant moment to say the least. Returning to the resort via e-mobile we watched the arctic sun disappear one last time and hoped the fate of the reindeers was to be more permanent. 

With one evening left in Pyhä we decided it was time to do the the touristy thing and visit the hotel gift shop where rather than some harmful plastic momento we bought an eco Pyhä t-shirt made entirely from recycled cotton. Walking through the trees that evening to the Restaurant Huttuhippu we fuelled up on a local reindeer steak washed down with beers from the Lapland brewery.

Feeling full and a little bleary eyed we headed outside where the  first glimpses of the northern lights slowly danced above the forest canopy. It was a short walk back to the apartment but it took a good hour longer and with a site like this why would you not linger. 

Quickly collecting our DLSR camera we spent the rest of the evening waiting patiently for the lights to reappear and around midnight we were struck dumb as the lights illuminated the whole of the resort.Looking across the slopes into the icy wilderness ahead we watched this natural phenomenon unfold and pondered what the future of our planet might look like. I guess we all have an important part to play in that!
 

Pyhä Ski Resort is one of Protect Our Winters Finland’s main partners

Climate change is a significant threat to the future of winter sports. Winters become shorter and the amount of snow is reduced. Protect Our Winters Finland is a part of the international POW movement that brings together winter sport enthusiasts and companies involved with winter sports to combat climate change. In practice, POW’s operations include raising awareness of climate change and its impact on winter sports, arranging campaigns and events and lobbying key decision-makers and companies in the industry.

You can read more about Pyhä Ski Resort resorts responsibility programme here. If you would like to keep up to date on the resorts responsibility initiative please follow them on Facebook and Instagram.