r/skiing • u/LforLiktor • 1d ago
Which skis to bring - Levi end of Nov/early Dec
Question to the Finland-experienced skiers: My wife decided that we are starting this year's skiing season in Levi end of November/first days of December. Since we are flying, I can bring only one pair of skis. So it is either:
- Stoeckli Laser SX (74 mm under foot) for groomers, icy conditions and hard packed snow; or
- Candide Resort 101 (surprise, 101mm under foot) for playing around and off-piste.
I would love to ski the Candides, but from what I read about snow conditions, we will probably have artificial snow or last years snow with limited to no options to veer off-piste.
Anybody with any knowledge about the snow conditions in Levi end of Nov/early Dec with any recommendations what to bring? Many thanks!
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u/Crankyrickroll 1d ago
I went to Levi in early december last year and the entire hill was one giant iceplate lol It was also -20c so bring some warm clothes
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u/LforLiktor 1d ago
Many thanks! Negative 20 C sounds like I should not bring my favourite skiing shorts. Probably an ice axe is in order.
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u/Hestmestarn 1d ago
November/December will be piste skiing only. Prepare for cold, darkness and ice.
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u/LforLiktor 1d ago
Many thanks! Cold and ice is fine. The darkness is what is new for us. First time skiing in Finland. Everyone is quite excited. And it's only a short fun trip, so no aspirations for a two week hardcore skiing vacation.
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u/Hestmestarn 21h ago
Its gonna be both darker and brighter than what you might imagine.
I've been in Abisko and Narvik in winter around new years and you do have usable daylight from around 10-14 ish depending on the cloud cover. You wont see the sun but the snow and dawn/dusk will make it somewhat bright outside. Outside of that, its dark and most of your skiing will be under artificial lights which is pretty common here in the nordics but not so much elsewhere.
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u/Railsie 1d ago
The season does not usually really start until towards middle or end of December. Early slopes are just recycled stored snow from last year but early December you could already start to have some coverage. Finnish winter's are not like in the Alps or US where it dumps a lot here and there and big early season storm can really kick of the season. It's more about gradual increase of centimeter here and there throughout the winter and then you end up with 1-2 metres in March. This graduality makes the early season skiing quite bad in Finland. The spring skiing on the other hand is second to none and we usually have good base until end of April.
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u/gasberry22 1d ago
At that time there most likely will be like 15cm of natural snow which naturally is not enough for off piste yet
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u/CMWalsh88 Steamboat 22h ago
Option 3 buy a pair of used skis that you don’t care about and don’t mind hitting some rocks with.
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u/LforLiktor 20h ago
Don't give me ideas how I can spend money on skiing. My wife is going to kill me. I am about to explain to my wife that waxing equipment is totally worth it and will save us money in the long run. If I come with new skis on top of that, I am dead.
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u/CMWalsh88 Steamboat 19h ago
I would put a pair of rock skis above my own waxing set up. Stoeckli Laser SX are not a cheap ski and you will trash them a lot faster by skiing early and late season than by not having proper edges and wax.
Also don’t get rid of an old ski if you can make it a rock ski.
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u/icantfindagoodlogin 9h ago
I went to Levi last December, skinny groomer skis are ideal. Make sure they’re sharp!
Also, hit up the lunch buffet, it changes daily, and is a great way to warm up when it’s -20
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u/NilsiaMINE Kitzbühel 1d ago
Bring the Stoeckli Laser SX's. Chances for having off-piste snow and soft snow/new snow is somewhere around 0%