Last year during Easter break I made my first skiing trip to an area without lifts. I had heard stories and seen pictures of Lyngen and knew it was an amazing place, and it was. Up to 1800 meters high, snowy mountains rise almost directly from the open Arctic Ocean and make skiing and views truly memorable. The drive from Helsinki takes around 16 hours which was doable with some sleep in the lofty estate Volvo and an audio book.

The accommodation we stayed at was called Manndalen Sjøbuer which strictly speaking is not in the Lyngen peninsula but it is otherwise well-located between the Kåfjord alps and the Tamok valley. We skied Rissavarri, Giilavarri and Rassevarri. All of these are close to a road and suitable for beginners. Distances between the different skiing areas and accommodation were surprisingly long so prepare to drive a lot, easily 30 km one-way.

This Easter I decided to explore Abisko and Riksgränsen area in Northern Sweden based on the idea of saving three hours on the drive. Bed capacity in Abisko, Riksgränsen and Björkliden was fully booked so we stayed at Bishops Arms in Kiruna, a city of 18 000 inhabitants an hour away from Abisko.

Abisko has one chair lift, known as the slowest in Sweden, with a vertical drop of 500 meters. From the top of the lift, one can continue climbing up to either Slåttatjåkka (1191 m) or Nuolja (1169 m). Other peaks in Abisko national park are further from the road. After exploring Abisko on the following two days we started climbs near Låktatjåkka railway station closer to Riksgränsen. Nearby, so called Anhalten off-piste route offers some easy but interesting skiing. Unfortunately this time the snow wasn’t particularly soft. Active snowmobile traffic caused some unpleasant noise in the lowest parts of the routes.

Based a single trip to Lyngen and Abisko each, I would recommend driving the extra three hours to Lyngen where there are more ski touring possibilities close to roads and stunning views over the fjords. On the other hand, Abisko and Riksgränsen have more services, including lifts, and the services are affordable compared to Norway.