Skiing to the top of the fell Sokosti is something that every frequent hiker of Saariselk\u00e4 should do. In winter time the tour is very demanding and it requires good preparations, experience of the conditions, and good physical condition. Sokosti is the highest peak in the area of Urho Kekkonen national park and Saariselk\u00e4. The peak rises 718 m above the sea level. The best place to start the tour is from Kiilop\u00e4\u00e4 fell center.<\/p>\n
From Kiilop\u00e4\u00e4, the trail starts towards the fell Niilanp\u00e4\u00e4 and Suomunruoktu. For the first five kilometers, the trail follows the maintained ski track towards Rautulampi. Directly after the fell center, the track rises above the tree line and heads towards the fells. After four kilometers of skiing you will reach the reindeer fence of Niilanp\u00e4\u00e4.<\/p>\n
Just after Niilanp\u00e4\u00e4 the trail separates from the maintained ski track and heads towards Suomunruoktu. Soon the trail will also reach the top of the fells and start descending to the canyon between Kopsusselk\u00e4 and Rautu fells. After 14 kilometers skiing the trail reaches the hut of Suomunruoktu which is situated by the river Suomu. Next to the hut you can find also the museum hut which was originally built already in 1935 during the gold rush. Later it has been used by hikers but nowadays it is only in museum use.<\/p>\n
From Suomunruoktu the trail continues towards southeast along the river Suomu. In Aitaoja it is time to leave the river behind and start following the slopes of the fell Vintil\u00e4tunturi towards Tuiskukuru. You will reach Tuiskukuru approximately 13 kilometers after Suomunruoktu. In Tuiskukuru there is a wilderness hut where it is possible to overnight. The name of the place, Tuiskukuru, means a canyon where wind and snow forms different dunes of snow. The canyon is situated right behind the wilderness hut.<\/p>\n
The lake Luiroj\u00e4rvi is situated eight kilometers east from Tuiskukuru. On the way the trail rises to the fell Ampumap\u00e4\u00e4 from where you can already see the fell Sokosti. By the lake Luiroj\u00e4rvi there are many different options for overnighting which of Kuusela locked wilderness hut, Luiroj\u00e4rvi locked wilderness hut and open wilderness hut, and rajank\u00e4mpp\u00e4 open wilderness hut are located on the southern and western shores of the Lake Luiro. Besides, there is an open wilderness hut (Raappanan kami) on the northern shore of the lake. Before skiing to the top of the fell Sokosti, you should leave all the extra equipment down by the lake so that the climbimg would be easier.<\/p>\n
The fell top of Sokosti is approximately 430 meters higher than the lake, and the climb is five kilometers long. The climb is steep and long so it is recommended to serpentine in to slope to make the climbing easier. One nice trail option is to ski to the top via canyon Jauruskuru. After the exhausting climb the sceneries from the peak feel like a reward. The way back to the lake goes easily.<\/p>\n
The way back from the lake Luiroj\u00e4rvi towards the lake Lankoj\u00e4rvi is approximately 18 km depending on the trail. The way back starts on the western side of the lake towards the canyon between the felss Joukhaisp\u00e4\u00e4 and Vasanly\u00f6m\u00e4p\u00e4\u00e4. Halfway between the lakes there is a fire place (Palovangaoja) where it is possible to take a break. Depending on the season and ice situation you should consider where you can go over the river Suomujoki. In the beginning of the winter when there is not enough snow you can use the bridge on Kotak\u00f6ng\u00e4s but later in the winter you can go over the water for example at the lake Lankoj\u00e4rvi.<\/p>\n
In Lankoj\u00e4rvi there is an open wilderness hut and a locked wilderness hut where it is possible to have a break or spend the night.<\/p>\n
From the lake Lankoj\u00e4rvi it is still approximately 20 km back to Kiilop\u00e4\u00e4. From Lankoj\u00e4rvi the trail continues along the small river Rautuoja towards west. The trail starts to climb slightly immediately and the climb continues all the way to the pond Rautulampi (pond with arctic char). By the pond there is a day hut where it is possible to take a break.<\/p>\n
After Rautulampi you can choose whether you want to ski along a marked and maintained ski track or through the fells. Between the fells Rautup\u00e4\u00e4 and Niilanp\u00e4\u00e4 there is a deep and beautiful canyon which is easier to pass by from the south. After climbing up to the fell Rautup\u00e4\u00e4, the terrain is almost flat all the way back to Kiilop\u00e4\u00e4. The last descent to the fell center on Kiilop\u00e4\u00e4 is easy and fast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Skiing to the top of the fell Sokosti is something that every frequent hiker of Saariselk\u00e4 should do. In winter time the tour is very demanding and it requires good preparations, experience of the conditions, and good physical condition. Sokosti is the highest peak in the area of Urho Kekkonen national park and Saariselk\u00e4. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"project_category":[99],"project_tag":[130],"class_list":["post-11782","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project_category-routes-and-trails","project_tag-winter-hobby"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saariselka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/11782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saariselka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saariselka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/project"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saariselka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saariselka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11782"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/saariselka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/11782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14062,"href":"https:\/\/saariselka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/11782\/revisions\/14062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saariselka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saariselka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"project_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saariselka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project_category?post=11782"},{"taxonomy":"project_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saariselka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project_tag?post=11782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}