Snowshoeing in the Pallastunturi Fells: Wonderful Views from the Slopes of Palkaskero

Snowshoeing, in the right conditions – above all on a firm, load-bearing snow crust – is a fun and fitness-boosting activity that will make you break a sweat even in freezing temperatures. In the Pallastunturi fells, there is a great destination for both beginners and more experienced snowshoers alike: Palkaskero. The route from the nature centre yard to Palkaskero is relatively short, and the scenery is stunning practically from the very first steps.

• Starting point on the map
• Campfire opportunity at Pallaskota hut

On a Sunday morning, my friend and I set off driving towards the Pallastunturi fells with snowshoeing in mind. Beautiful weather had been forecast, and our hope was to see a wintery fell landscape painted by sunlight.

We left the car in the almost empty hotel car park. The nature centre also seemed to be closed, so without much bustle we strapped on our snowshoes and headed towards nearby Palkasker. The approach to Palkaskero is considerably shorter and, to my eye, also gentler than the ascent to the magnificent Taivaskero, the highest of the Pallastunturi fells. For that reason, Palkaskero felt like just the right choice for a relaxed and rather aimless Sunday walk. We simply wanted to admire the scenery, without any more concrete goals.

And the views were waiting just a few steps away. In the snow-free season, you are meant to follow the official Palkaskero trail, which curves around via the reindeer fence and approaches the summit from the side. But the hardened snow crust brings a sense of freedom to travelling, and we too set off with open minds, weaving our way towards the slope. We noted that the summit of Taivaskero was wrapped in grey cloud and kept a discreet eye on the situation – losing visibility in the fells is no trivial matter. Fortunately, the cloud over Taivaskero seemed to stay put and even thinned out during our trip.

We did not intend to reach the summit at all, but instead wandered along the Pallaskero-facing slope of Palkaskero. The landscape was truly wilderness-like: ahead of us stretched nothing but fell after fell in countless shades of white and blue. The wind chilled our fingers especially when I stopped to take photos. The camera, however, bravely withstood the fell conditions without complaint.

There were other small groups out on the fell as well, many of them apparently travelling on skis and then skiing down more or less under control. I myself am not much of a daredevil by nature, so I was perfectly happy with my slow but safely stable snowshoes.

Down below in the landscape, Pallaskota hut stood out – it would have been a perfect place to stop at the end of a fell outing to enjoy snacks by an open fire. However, I had brought along my trusted piece of gear, a food thermos, into which I had heated tofu wok at home. We took a short rest and snack break at a random spot on the slope. We did not even bother to sit down; I shoveled the steaming wok into my mouth while my friend sipped her tea.

After a brief cool-down, we headed onwards towards the steeper upper slope and gradually began to curve back towards our starting point.

The sun stepped up its performance during our return journey, making the chain of fells stretching south appear even more imposing.

All in all, we must have spent a couple of hours out in the terrain, or at most a few – we never checked the time, keeping an eye instead on the sun and, on the other hand, the movement of the clouds, just in case the conditions might change. But the weather treated us kindly, and the firm snow crust made the experience truly enjoyable.

Before heading out snowshoeing to Palkaskero, it is worth visiting the Luontoon.fi service and looking for Palkaskeron valloitus among the Pallastunturi route descriptions.

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