Finland's Levi and Ruka ski resorts have started their seven month long '24-'25 seasons, becoming the first centres outside the Alps in the northern hemisphere to open for skiing and snowboarding.
Both have opening weekend festivals underway that will include the use of about 2km of slopes each, plus terrain park features, new season gear tests and plenty of festivities. Both centres also create cross country trails using the same technique of storing large volumes of last season's snow through the summer then spreading it back out on the cooling landscape.
Finland becomes the fourth country in Europe and the northern hemisphere to start its 24-25 season, with Levi and Ruka now planning to open daily for the next seven months, and Levi staging World Cup races in November.
This weekend will see more than a dozen centres open in Europe for the first time since last spring with Switzerland's Saas Fee and Zermatt open whilst Austria will be up to six centres operating already with the Kitzsteinhorn glacier (below) and Kaprun and the Kaunertal glacier joining the Stubai and Pitztal glaciers as well as Solden and Hintertux. Passo Stelvio and Val Senales in Italy are also already open.
