Kilpisjärvi is located in the westernmost part of Finland's Lapland, right where the borders of Finland, Sweden and Norway meet. It's on the eastern flank of the Scands mountain range.
Kilpisjärvi, or Gilbbesjávri on Sami language, is a small village of approximately 100 people living there year round. Main source of income for the local people is tourism, and all kinds of services are readily available from quality hotels to nice restaurants et cetera.
Due to it's location right in the heart of Scands, Kilpisjärvi is an excellent place to go heliskiing or ski touring. Since the place is so far up north, some 250 km north of the Arctic Circle, the ski season begins a bit later than on more temperate latitudes. This is not due to cold weather, though, because the area is not actually as cold as one might think. The Gulf stream has it's effect also on Kilpisjärvi region and even during the coldest months of the year the temperatures rarely drop below -25. It is the shortage of daylight during January and February that makes it hard to heli, but from the beginning of March there is already plenty of light and from early April sun is up for more than 12 hours a day. In May it´s possible to go skiing in the midlle of the night with a bright sun shinging high up.
Heliskiing in Norway is prohibited by law, but in Finland and Sweden it is allowed. In Kilpisjärvi region the best runs are on the swedish side of the border. Highest runs are approximately 800 vertical metres and terrain is very variable. There is lots of fun terrain for all abilities from beginner to expert and beyond.
In March, April and May there is a lot of snow, and powder conditions are also quite frequent.
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