Most of you, who are settled in Joensuu probably already dreaming about the spring to come. I started to feel that spring is about to come since we have changed the time 1 hour ahead last weekend, when the light days started to be longer. The Mother-Nature every now and then gives us sunny days and surprises with sudden snowfalls as well. I measured the amount of snow in the morning when coming out of the building in the morning, 6 cm - unbelievable. I do cross-country skiing quite often myself and I think with this kind of whether it will be possible to ski till mid of April, unfortunately not on the lakes.I do skiing close to football pitch in Lehmo, you can ski even during late evening on 1.7 km track with the lights. The forecast for the end of this week till mid of next week says that we can expect most of the time below -10 degrees in the night and about zero during the day.
This creates a lot of opportunity for those who would like to ski in "off-track" conditions, simply to say in every direction. Such difference in temperature creates thin crust of ice over the snow, which supports on a snow surface and you are not sinking into the snow as after the snowfall. The best time to do the "off-track" skiing is before noon, otherwise the temperature rises and thin crust of ice melts. Try it, it is really nice!!! If you intending to do it in the forest, please do not forget about personal safety - compass, map and mobile phone might be useful.
It is also the best time for wolfs to hunt their prey, especially moose. The moose is heavy and normally stuck in the snow, while wolves are circling the animal. I watched some videos filmed in this season, and it is amazing.
Good luck with your studies and have a nice coming Easter holidays!
