FinLine Trivia

Miscellaneous Facts from the History of FinLine

Highest elevation ever on the official FinLine route?

No, it is not the end of FinLine 2006 (Kaunispää summit, 436 m_ASL) nor Hotel Pallas at the end of the second day of FinLine 2016 (~455 m_ASL). The correct answer is Muotkatakka, the first service stop on the first day of FinLine 2001 (altitude 565.8 m_ASL). It is also the highest location with tarmac in Finland, so this record will not be exceeded.

Highest speed on skates on a public road on FinLine?

The current speed record 76 km/h (measurement results: 75.8...76.6 km/h) has been achieved in Nokkosenmäki downhill in Nokkospohja, Jyväskylä (former Korpilahti) on the second day of FinLine 2010. The record-holding skating group consisted of six skaters: Panu, Heikki, Tapsa, Ellu, Jouni K., and Jouni M.

Longest daytrip on the official FinLine route?

The longest daytrip on official FinLine route has been the 10th day of FinLine 2001, starting from Alavus and ending in Tampere after 140 km of skating. (It needs to be noted that the previous day had been already pretty long, 127 km.)

Northernmost location on the official FinLine route?

FinLine 2006 started officially from Norwegian border in Nuorgam, Utsjoki and the northernmost location (N 70° 5.377' E 27° 57.075') was reached after 400 meters of skating. It is also the northernmost location with tarmac in Finland. Most skaters actually started from Varangerbotn, Norway and before reaching Finland, they skated even norther (N 70° 10.914').

Largest number of countries visited with skates during one FinLine?

On FinLine 2016 we were able to visit three countries: in addition to Finland, we started skating from the Norwegian borderline in Kivilompolo and made a short extra visit to Sweden in Kolari on the fifth day. For geopolitical reasons, this record most probably will not be exceeded.

Point closest to Russia on the official FinLine route?

It is not the Vaalimaa border crossing station (start of FinLine 2017, 1.1 km from Russia) nor Niirala border crossing station (start of FinLine 2011, 1.0 km from Russia). It is just a "normal" road section in Saarivaara on the third day of FinLine 2021: We skated on a Finnish road only 450 meters from the Russian soil. The no-entry border zone started right from the ditch beside us.

Easternmost location on the official FinLine route?

The easternmost location on FinLine is not the same as the location closest to Russia. It is not Mutalahti either, where we stopped for a newspaper interview on the fourth day of FinLine 2021. Instead, the easternmost location (N 62° 56.686' E 31° 17.751') was reached at the very end of the same day, after Hattuvaara village a few kilometers before the tarmac ended. Note that at that point we were 50 km more to east than the center of Saint Petersburg (N 59° 56.424' E 30° 18.834').