Skiing the Planet

"Mongolia is kind of close, right?" Story about an attempt to ski everywhere in the world where there's snow. And in some places where there isn't. On and off-piste skiing on all continents, skiing into craters of live volcanoes, climbing, photography, and travel.

The blog about skiing around the world. The most recent blog articles can be found in Blogspot. This page lists all the skiing-related articles from this blog series.

December snow at Vihti
While my car was broken again (long story...) I got a ride from a friend to visit Vihti ski center again. I started my Finnish ski season here in November, but it seems that I'm skiing here again in December. No complaints, it is a great place to ski in. And the snowmageddon in southern Finland has laid plenty of nice powdery stuff on the hill.
Full story

December 2022, Vihti ski, Vihti, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

London skiing. On a side of a building.
One thing you do not expect when strolling in London is a huge mural on the side of a building, depicting skiing and ski lifts. Well done, South Kensington!
Full story

November 2022, Reece Mews Ski Mural, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom
Skiing (None, Media)

Season is on again! Only six months break in Vihti and Hyvinkää
I opened my official Finnish ski season on 16th of November in Vihti. Vihti actually opened already on the 14th and Hyvinkää had already had sessions from October 24th. The last seasons ended on May 10th in Vihti and May 9th in Hyvinkää, so only 5.5 - 6 months summer break! Well done!
Full story
(TGR version)

November 2022, Vihti ski, Vihti, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

October turns at the x-country ski hall
The city of Helsinki maintains a previously commercial Kivikko indoor ski hall. It has been scheduled for closing, however, due to rising energy costs and small number of users. Hopefully that decision can be turned! But. It is an *x-country* ski hall, how can one enjoy it for downhill skiing? To begin with, I was wondering if I'd be allowed in with my ski boots and alpine skis. But no one batted an eyelid... and I put them in touring mode, which made progress on the track nice. And then .. there is about a 4-5 meter slope along the track... I switched to "skating" mode and side of the track... voilà!
Full story
(TGR version)

October 2022, Kivikon hiihtohalli, Helsinki, Finland
Skiing (Indoor)

Taking the chairlift to September runs
I try to ski every month and September is always a difficult one. Today’s run was short, but with full service.
Full story
(TGR version)

September 2022, House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

Snowdog finds snow, Planetskier skies it
Snowdog found snow! And I skied it, of course :-)
Full story
(TGR version)

July 2022, Kauniaisten jäähalli, Kauniainen, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Hiking

Ski, sail, sauna, and swim
A fun day, starting with emergency skiing 🎿 the quickly disappearing snow on my local hill at 6am, continued with sailing ⛵️to Suomenlinna on Markus’ boat - thanks! From then on the company picnic day was just starting 🙂 Lot more fun followed, e.g., a sauna 🧖‍♂️ and swim 🏊‍♂️ in the Suomenlinna boat harbor.
Full story
(TGR version)

June 2022, Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland; Suomenlinnan vierasvenesatama, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland; Cafe Bar Valimo, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sailing; Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Water, Outdoor, Waterbody-Sea)

Last drive?
Only three days of legal driving left. The Volvo goes to a last-ditch cheap attempt to fix it, but, the odds are not great. Took the car for a spin today, along with the 'Genuine Accessories' aka the Volvo 740 skis. Just like the car, however, the skis are aging, one binding's plastic parts disintegrated. No prob, one ski is enough.
Full story
(TGR version)

April 2022, Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Car

Skinning Mt. Titlis
Titlis is a 3238 m high mountain above the Engelberg ski resort in Switzerland. Engelberg is a great place for skiing early or later in the winter, like now we were skiing here in April.
Full story

April 2022, Engelberg, Switzerland; Titlis, Engelberg, Switzerland; Engelberg, Switzerland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Climbing (Mountain); Caving (None, Rock)

Make the trip to the airport count
Conference is over, time to head to the airport. How about an early wakeup, and trying to make the trip count as something interesting? I headed to the hotel sauna, then hit slopes in Semmering (one hour away), climbed and lidar-scanned a couple of caves, and still had time to check the apres ski in St. Corona ski resort :-) There was none.
Full story
(TGR version)

March 2022, Hilton Vienna Park, Vienna, Austria; Semmering, Austria; St. Corona, Austria; Semmeringhalbhöhle, Semmering, Austria; Schrägaufzughöhle, Semmering, Austria
Sauna (Normal); Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Caving (Rock, Basic, Surveying, Rock-Limestone); Climbing (Mountain)

Cyprus Smuggling White Powdery Stuff over the Border
More countries. I am standing at the parking lot of Mt. Olympus in Cyprus, having just skied it. There's plenty of snow in the snowbanks by my car. North Cyprus is an hour and half's drive away. Sadly, there are no high mountains or ski resorts in North Cyprus. But could I pack snow in the trunk of my car, take it across the border, and ski somewhere? Let's try!
Full story

February 2022, Field, Özhan, Northern Cyprus
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Hiking)

Wurmberg Busy Skihill in Harz
I've never heard of this place. But, it is a cozy national park, relaxing, forest, some caves around... and it is also a 971 meter high mountain, the highest in Lower Saxony. So obviously there's a ski resort with lifts. Including a gondola! The views are nice, the weather like sunny, and to my luck there was also some fresh snow on the sides of the ski slopes. Can't complain.
Full story

February 2022, Wurmberg, Harz, Germany
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

Fischen Small but pretty
Stinesser Lifte is a ski hill near our hotel near Obertsdorf on our January visit to German and Austrian ski resorts. A maybe a "hill", it is just a small hill. Maybe even smaller than my local hill back home. Ah, no, according to skiresort.info it still has 130 meter vertical difference, three times as much as my local hill :-)
Full story

January 2022, Stinesser Lifte, Fischen i. Allgäu, Germany
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

Hörnerbahn gelbe Kugeln
We were going to ski in Oberstdorf. Seven kilometers outside Oberstdorf we had spotted a medium-size ski area, Hörnerbahn. It seemed inviting, so before heading to Oberstdorf slopes, we wanted to try it as well for an hour or two. Their main lift cabins looked like yellow eggs, quite striking :-)
Full story

January 2022, Hörnerbahn, Hörnerdörfer, Germany
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

Knee testing
Today is the first time I'm on skis, after starting to have knee pains since the beginning of the year. A test on the local hill. Wish me luck!
Full story

January 2022, Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

Eduskuntatalo fail
I have long wanted to ski the Parliament House stairs. And I thought today's "Valtteri" winter storm was the perfect opportunity to do that. However... when I got to the chairs, it turned out they are being heated, and snow-free even in a once-in-a-decade storm. Sigh. What a letdown. And maybe also waste of energy :-)
Full story
(TGR version)

January 2022, Eduskuntatalo, Helsinki, Finland; Temppeliaukion kirkko, Helsinki, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Hiking)

This is the 5th set of articles. The previous sets were set 1, set 2, set 3, and set 4. The next sets are set 6, set 7, set 8, set 9, set 10, set 11, set 12, set 13, set 14, set 15, set 16, set 17, set 18, set 19, set 20, set 21, set 22, and set 23.

See also the Planetskier blog articles about caving, urban exploration, climbing, cycling, flying, swimming, and saunas. There is also a full list of all articles regardless of topic, a list of services "approved by the Planetskier, and a world map of all skiing related destinations from the blog series:

	December snow at Vihti While my car was broken again (long story...) I got a ride from a friend to visit Vihti ski center again. I started my Finnish ski season here in November, but it seems that I'm skiing here again in December. No complaints, it is a great place to ski in. And the snowmageddon in southern Finland has laid plenty of nice powdery stuff on the hill. Full story December 2022, Vihti ski, Vihti, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

	London skiing. On a side of a building. One thing you do not expect when strolling in London is a huge mural on the side of a building, depicting skiing and ski lifts. Well done, South Kensington! Full story November 2022, Reece Mews Ski Mural, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom Skiing (None, Media)

	Season is on again! Only six months break in Vihti and Hyvinkää I opened my official Finnish ski season on 16th of November in Vihti. Vihti actually opened already on the 14th and Hyvinkää had already had sessions from October 24th. The last seasons ended on May 10th in Vihti and May 9th in Hyvinkää, so only 5.5 - 6 months summer break! Well done! Full story (TGR version) November 2022, Vihti ski, Vihti, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

	October turns at the x-country ski hall The city of Helsinki maintains a previously commercial Kivikko indoor ski hall. It has been scheduled for closing, however, due to rising energy costs and small number of users. Hopefully that decision can be turned! But. It is an x-country ski hall, how can one enjoy it for downhill skiing? To begin with, I was wondering if I'd be allowed in with my ski boots and alpine skis. But no one batted an eyelid... and I put them in touring mode, which made progress on the track nice. And then .. there is about a 4-5 meter slope along the track... I switched to "skating" mode and side of the track... voilà! Full story (TGR version) October 2022, Kivikon hiihtohalli, Helsinki, Finland Skiing (Indoor)

	Taking the chairlift to September runs I try to ski every month and September is always a difficult one. Today’s run was short, but with full service. Full story (TGR version) September 2022, House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

	Snowdog finds snow, Planetskier skies it Snowdog found snow! And I skied it, of course :-) Full story (TGR version) July 2022, Kauniaisten jäähalli, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Hiking

	Ski, sail, sauna, and swim A fun day, starting with emergency skiing 🎿 the quickly disappearing snow on my local hill at 6am, continued with sailing ⛵️to Suomenlinna on Markus’ boat - thanks! From then on the company picnic day was just starting 🙂 Lot more fun followed, e.g., a sauna 🧖‍♂️ and swim 🏊‍♂️ in the Suomenlinna boat harbor. Full story (TGR version) June 2022, Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland; Suomenlinnan vierasvenesatama, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland; Cafe Bar Valimo, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sailing; Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Water, Outdoor, Waterbody-Sea)

	Last drive? Only three days of legal driving left. The Volvo goes to a last-ditch cheap attempt to fix it, but, the odds are not great. Took the car for a spin today, along with the 'Genuine Accessories' aka the Volvo 740 skis. Just like the car, however, the skis are aging, one binding's plastic parts disintegrated. No prob, one ski is enough. Full story (TGR version) April 2022, Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Car

	Skinning Mt. Titlis Titlis is a 3238 m high mountain above the Engelberg ski resort in Switzerland. Engelberg is a great place for skiing early or later in the winter, like now we were skiing here in April. Full story April 2022, Engelberg, Switzerland; Titlis, Engelberg, Switzerland; Engelberg, Switzerland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Climbing (Mountain); Caving (None, Rock)

	Make the trip to the airport count Conference is over, time to head to the airport. How about an early wakeup, and trying to make the trip count as something interesting? I headed to the hotel sauna, then hit slopes in Semmering (one hour away), climbed and lidar-scanned a couple of caves, and still had time to check the apres ski in St. Corona ski resort :-) There was none. Full story (TGR version) March 2022, Hilton Vienna Park, Vienna, Austria; Semmering, Austria; St. Corona, Austria; Semmeringhalbhöhle, Semmering, Austria; Schrägaufzughöhle, Semmering, Austria Sauna (Normal); Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Caving (Rock, Basic, Surveying, Rock-Limestone); Climbing (Mountain)

	Cyprus Smuggling White Powdery Stuff over the Border More countries. I am standing at the parking lot of Mt. Olympus in Cyprus, having just skied it. There's plenty of snow in the snowbanks by my car. North Cyprus is an hour and half's drive away. Sadly, there are no high mountains or ski resorts in North Cyprus. But could I pack snow in the trunk of my car, take it across the border, and ski somewhere? Let's try! Full story February 2022, Field, Özhan, Northern Cyprus Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Hiking)

	Wurmberg Busy Skihill in Harz I've never heard of this place. But, it is a cozy national park, relaxing, forest, some caves around... and it is also a 971 meter high mountain, the highest in Lower Saxony. So obviously there's a ski resort with lifts. Including a gondola! The views are nice, the weather like sunny, and to my luck there was also some fresh snow on the sides of the ski slopes. Can't complain. Full story February 2022, Wurmberg, Harz, Germany Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

	Fischen Small but pretty Stinesser Lifte is a ski hill near our hotel near Obertsdorf on our January visit to German and Austrian ski resorts. A maybe a "hill", it is just a small hill. Maybe even smaller than my local hill back home. Ah, no, according to skiresort.info it still has 130 meter vertical difference, three times as much as my local hill :-) Full story January 2022, Stinesser Lifte, Fischen i. Allgäu, Germany Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

	Hörnerbahn gelbe Kugeln We were going to ski in Oberstdorf. Seven kilometers outside Oberstdorf we had spotted a medium-size ski area, Hörnerbahn. It seemed inviting, so before heading to Oberstdorf slopes, we wanted to try it as well for an hour or two. Their main lift cabins looked like yellow eggs, quite striking :-) Full story January 2022, Hörnerbahn, Hörnerdörfer, Germany Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

	Knee testing Today is the first time I'm on skis, after starting to have knee pains since the beginning of the year. A test on the local hill. Wish me luck! Full story January 2022, Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts)

	Eduskuntatalo fail I have long wanted to ski the Parliament House stairs. And I thought today's "Valtteri" winter storm was the perfect opportunity to do that. However... when I got to the chairs, it turned out they are being heated, and snow-free even in a once-in-a-decade storm. Sigh. What a letdown. And maybe also waste of energy :-) Full story (TGR version) January 2022, Eduskuntatalo, Helsinki, Finland; Temppeliaukion kirkko, Helsinki, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Hiking)