Climbing Extreme

In Finland there’s not that much mountains. Actually most of the ice climbing spots in Finland are somewhere else than in fells (fell = sort of round mountain). There are abandoned mines, different sized smaller cliffs and then such places like Korouoma, which is by far the best spot for ice climbing in Finland. Korouoma is about 30 kilometers long and up to 130 meters deep canyon located at Posio. The entire area is natural reserve. There are at least seven named ice falls, most of them offering multiple routes, which are graded between WI3 and WI6.

The most obvious of these falls is the 1) Brown River (WI4/WI5), which is visible from the camping place at the bottom of Korouoma. Brown River is the highest of the falls, having up to 50 meters of ice suitable for climbing. Going up (left) from the camping place, one encounters 2) Mammoth (WI3), 3) Charlie (WI3/WI4), 4) Way of the Wind (WI3+/WI4) and Northern Lights (WI3+). Going down (right) from the camping place, there’s 5) Monk cave (WI5+/WI6), which is pretty close, and then 6) Angel Fall (WI3) and 7) Wolf’s teeth (haven’t seen it), which both are much further down the Korouoma (about an hour of walk in winter conditions). Except for Monk Cave all of these falls are on the south side of the Koro River (i.e. opposite to side of the parking lot). In addition to these there are several such falls, that aren’t there every year and might not have names (at least I don’t know the names).

Out of these Brown River, Mammoth and Charlie are by far the most popular ones. There’s almost always a good trail leaving from camping place towards those. Well, to the Charlie the trail used to be less established couple of years ago, but it seems that Charlie has gained popularity quite a bit and in my opinion for a good reason. I too like Charlie, both because of its sights as well as varied climbing opportunities it offers. In case you would like to do it with the top rope, there’s a side trail going up to each of these. Whereas at Brown River and Charlie it might be somewhat difficult to spot the right trail, it’s easy at Mammoth, just climb up left side of the fall. At Brown River and Charlie the side trail leaves from the right side of the fall.

Generally speaking approach is fairly easy, it’s canyon after all. After a walk to the bottom of the canyon, you just need to continue the trail following the river till you’ll get under your favorite fall. Typically there’s a short steep descent to each fall from the trail. On the other hand getting up from the canyon after hard climbing day requires much more sweat.

Getting there

If you’re arriving outside Finland by plane, the two closest air fields are in Rovaniemi and Kuusamo (about 100km from Korouoma); another alternative is Oulu (about 250km from Korouoma). If you’re coming from southern Finland you have an option either drive the whole distance, or get yourself (and in case you wish, your car) to the train to Rovaniemi or Oulu.

Once nearby the only really viable option is car. In case you didn’t bring your own, there are several rental agencies, including all the large global names, available in Rovaniemi, Kuusamo and Oulu. There are some busses coming to Posio, which is about 30 kilometers away from Korouoma, as well. Some of the busses might even be driving the road from Rovaniemi to Posio and in such case you could get off at the Korouoma crossing (5-7 kilometers from the actual place). With heavy climbing gear it is quite a bit more comfortable to come by car than rely on those very few busses, especially because there’s no local public transportation available what so ever. Well, you can get a taxi, but that’s expensive.

If you’re arriving by car drive first to Posio, from Posio head towards Rovaniemi and after roughly 30 kilometers, you should see a sign pointing to Korouoma, turn left as pointed by the sign. Drive about 2 kilometers, and there’s another sign, turn right. Drive till you end up to the parking lot (see map for exact location). From the parking lot you need to walk, just take the path down (starts from the left side of road, just a bit further from the parking lot), and you’ll end up to the camping place, where you can see the brown river.

Accommodation

There are few government owned cottages for rent, some cottages where one can stay for free and a place for camping in the area. (As surprising for a foreigner it might in Finland we have a system, where in certain remote cottages anyone can stay for free.) If you’re ready stay a slightly further from the venue, there are several private cottages with in distance of 30 kilometers as well.  From all the alternatives Piippukota and nearby camping ground are the closest to the falls, basically just few hundred meters away from Brown River. You can find more information and book accommodation online for instance from Villi Pohjola web-service.

More information:

• Retkikartta.fi – accurate online topographic maps of all the natural reserves of Finland (+plenty of other places), including routes cottages and cabins
• Villi Pohjola – online reservation and information about cottage accommodations in Finland
• Posio – Posio municipality (sorry, no English here)

Location details:

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Few images from Korouoma below:

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