incentive
INCENTIVE DESTINATION
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modern life mixes with their cultural practices. They
invited us into their modest wood-panelled home
and their traditional kota and shared their stories.
Afterwards we went on the long-awaited “reindeer
safari.” Each person had their own sled to sit on, each
sled connected to one reindeer. We kept warm with
reindeer skins and a blanket. With his lead reindeer,
our guide led our reindeer train on a ride through hills
and forests. We embarked on an exhausting hourlong
journey (both for the reindeer and for us – the
reindeer were so close to our heads, we could hear
them panting in our ears) through snowy, scenic trails.
Once we arrived back at the farm, we were greeted
by the sight of a row of snow mobiles – two per
mobile.
This day was particularly cold at about -23 and
the sun had gone down, by now it was 3:30 in the
afternoon.
After kitting up with helmets and partners on the
bikes, we set off for our hotel.
The course they had chosen was an AJ (adrenalin
junkie) dream. It was a cross country route with builtin
obstacles, i.e. bridges that could take one mobile
at a time, built from logs, and barely wide enough to
squeeze through.
HUSKY SAFARI
Our day with the huskies was just as exciting. As the
guide harnessed the dogs to the wooden sleighs, we
had a chance to get to know the huskies that were
going to pull our sleigh. Each sleigh is pulled by four
to six dogs, which depends on the weather conditions
and the length of the trip.
The guide gave us a quick lesson on how to steer the
huskies: how to make them stop and turn. Every husky
knows its name as you call it.
Once the huskies had been harnessed, we started
our ride. Each sleigh takes two persons. One of them
steers the sleigh standing on the runners, while the
other sits in a so-called sleigh bag, sheltered from the
wind. The places were swapped midway.
At the end we got to spend time with the huskies
and we also got to meet some really cute little puppies
and mommies in the nursery.
The start of our husky safari.
SKIING
On skis, you could look at cross country, beginner’s
lessons, or some wonderfully serious world class slopes
if you know what you are doing. Levi is Finland’s top
skiing resort and offers an array of hills to play on.
On the slopes of Levi, the amateurs can easily
practice skiing, and to facilitate the skiing process of
the experts, there are four black slopes.
The longest slope is 2 500 metres long and the
highest vertical drop is 325 metres. There are 44 slopes,
15 of which are floodlit, and 28 lifts, including the only
gondola lift in Finland. The Vertical drop is 325 m and
the lift capacity is 27 600 skiers/hour.
The first World Cup event held in Finland happened
in 2004 at Levi. (Levi World Cup is the northernmost
Alpine World Cup). This event represents a huge effort
for the surrounding municipality of Kittila, which has a
population of less than 6 000.
The competition slope – Levi Black – isn’t called black
for nothing! The vertical drop is 180 metres, while the
gradient of the slope reaches 52 per cent at its steepest
point. Several million euros have been invested in the
slope’s profile and snow system in order to allow the
competitions to be organised under the best possible
conditions.
Changes are made to the upper part of the slope
almost every year in the form of different mounds,
guaranteeing that none of the competitors gain a
home-slope advantage. The fact that none of the
winners in the previous years have been able to repeat
their victory also says something about the level of
challenge.
Every year more than 20 000 spectators attend the
event and approximately 100 million view it on TV.
We had planned the itinerary so that there was half
a day each day of free time. Most of the group spent
that free time on the slopes with great stories being
told in the evenings.
ICE HOTEL
The trip to the ice hotel at Lainio Snow Village was
kept to the last evening. There was, initially, a debate
View across to Sweden.
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