71-Year-Old Engineer Shares Finland Cross-Country Skiing Adventures

Àngel Artigas, a 71-year-old engineer from Sabadell, will share his passion for cross-country skiing in Finland during a talk tonight at 9pm at the ACCO in Ordino-la Massana, as part of the Ordino-la Massana Cinema, Mountain and Travel Cycle.

Artigas, who has worked as a technical engine engineer, discovered cross-country skiing 25 years ago through his daughter, a runner with the Unió Excursionista de Sabadell. His love for the sport deepened on his first trip to Finland in the 1990s, which he describes as a paradise for cross-country skiing. He later lived there for work reasons and has returned almost every year since.

A highlight was his participation in the 2016 Border to Border traverse, a 415-kilometre journey from the Russian border to the Swedish border, completed over seven days. The event is well-supported, with a bus midway each day for shorter distances, refreshments every 10 kilometres, and a snowmobile at the rear to assist stragglers.

Anyone accustomed to skiing 30-35 kilometres daily could manage it, Artigas says, though weather poses the biggest challenge: strong winds across open plains and temperatures dropping to -28°C, where skiing becomes impossible below -20°C. He recommends quality thermal clothing, hand warmers, a fully charged phone with a spare battery, and patience if rescue is needed.

Artigas will also screen a short film about Saariselka, a village with an excellent bus network and marked trails linking cabins stocked with firewood. Some offer coffee from locals; others provide solitude by a fireplace. The atmosphere stands apart from typical ski resorts, he notes.

Among his anecdotes: three years ago, a broken ski boot forced him to limp to a Sami who drove him to a bus. He confirms local pride in having more reindeer than Sami people, though he has spotted them mainly in summer.

Through his presentation, Artigas aims to show that such adventures require no elite athleticism like Kilian Jornet's—just preparation, common sense, and basic fitness.