Week-long Trek Takes U.S. Skiers 411 Kilometers

By Frida Waara

Frida Waara, one of 9 RRH skiers from Marquette, Michigan, climbs a hill in view a Russian guard post near the Finnish border. (Photo by Antti Pulliainen)

Skies were gray and drizzling rain but the spirits of skiers from 14 nations could not be dampened as they crossed the finish line in Tornio, Finland, near the Swedish border. The 72 skiers were not racing, but completing the week-long Rajalta Rajalle Hiihto (RRH), the annual border-to-border ski tour from Russia to Sweden across Finland.

Shortly after 2 p.m. on March 12, the snowmobile trail sweep followed Toyoko Miyazaki, the only participant from Japan, as she covered the final kilometers of the route that began Thursday, March 6, in Paljakka near the Russian border. Because of warming temperatures and open water on key river crossings the course had to be shortened from the planned 440 kilometers to 411.

A total of 14 Americans from five states--including nine from Marquette in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula--took part in RRH. Steve Swanson from Salt Lake City, Utah, was the oldest and only U.S. skier to complete the entire tour.

Steve Swanson of Salt Lake City Utah is the only American to compete the entire 411 kilometers of the RRH. (Photo by Frida Waara)

Traveling a distance close to the miles between Detroit and Chicago is nothing new to the 69-year-old retired mechanical engineering professor from the University of Utah. He arrived in Scandinavia at the end of February to log nearly 300 kilometers in competitions. He raced two prestigious world loppets, the 62-kilometer Finlandia Hiihto in Lahti, Finland, and the 90-kilometer Vasa Loppet in Mora, Sweden.

“Before the border-to-border I also raced the 90k Oppet Spar and the 45k half Vasa in Mora,” says Swanson, a Minnesota native who has been skiing for over 40 years.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the RRH and two of the founders, Leila and Vaino Voutilainen, were among the first of four waves of skiers to complete the trek.

“We’ve skied every border-to-border since the beginning,” says 63-year-old Leila, who admits the challenge is as much mental as physical. “It takes Sisu,” she admits, using the Finnish term for determination. “And the older you get the more Sisu you have,” she says smiling.

Georgeanne Nikula, of Marquette, a second generation Finnish-American, attests to that will to persevere. “Every day I looked at these people and saw my father’s eyes,” she says reflectively.”

Toyoko Miyazaki of Japan finishes the final 411 kilometers of the Rajalta Rajalle Hiihto in Finland. (Photo by Frida Waara)

Mike Orhanen, who’s grandparents were also from Finland says, “This trip, the people and the environment has given me a new appreciation for my Finnish heritage.”

Another Marquette skier, Ron Thorley, was struck by the landscape similarities between northern Finland and the Upper Peninsula. “I know why so many Finns wound up in the U.P. This country looks just like home.”

The remote stretches were also zippered with signs of wildlife. “We saw lots of rabbit and moose tracks but on Sunday, skiing silently through the Syote forest with Michael Chadek of Boise, Idaho, I had a surprise,” says Jo Samuelson, of Marquette, “I was fascinated by the way the snow hung on the trees and then I saw a reindeer just standing there looking at us. It was really magical.”

Amy and Lyle Michaels of Marquette trained and prepared all winter for this endurance test. They admit the daily distances--between 28 and 87 kilometers--were more grueling than they anticipated, but meeting skiers from around the world has helped make memories out of the miles. Amy smiles, “I’m tired but I’m going home with Leila’s comment. She warned us, ‘Be careful, this may become a habit,’ and I can see why.”