The Pitsusköngäs waterfall cave

Last month Duncan, Jarmo, Kimmo and me did a cave exploration trip to the Käsivarsi wilderness area. Peeking into every hole we could see, combing through areas of limestone, etc. The most memorable for me was the Pitsusköngäs (Bihčosgorži) waterfalls, highest in Finland at 17m free fall. And there was some space underneath, maybe 10x6-8x8m. Can we classify that as a cave?

Otherwise, we saw a lot of interesting things, but were unable to find anything large. The possibility of a large cave underneath the mountains is still there, given that we have identified a large resurgence (that we can't get to, it is under large boulders) and a large lake that drops 7cm/day without an outflow river. But we did see many tiny holes, even few small caves. 

In the barren landscape high up north there are no trees, and it is difficult to judge distances or sizes, we often got disappointed about things we thought might actually be large cave openings but turned out to be small ones. More about the small caves and non-caves we found in this article.

We got to the area first by helicopter, saving maybe three days one way; the trip would not have been possible without this. Coming in, the flying weather might have been a bit marginal though :-) 

We hiked from the designated landing site though to where we were going, and every day on side trips, I did close to 70 km in six days. 

See the video here:

We also saw snow. I had dragged my mini-skis *except* of course on the side trip that we unexpectedly found the snow. Fortunately, after coming back we found some sand dune to do my August turn(s) on. See the separate article.

It was also a lot of fun the do some swimming in the untouched and cold rivers and lakes in the area, also discussed in a separate article.

The Pitsusköngäs waterfall is extensively discussed in the waterfalls page here, and also a bit in Wikipedia. Note that the name is sometimes written also Pihtsusköngäs. And Bihčosgorži is the native's  Sámi language name. Perhaps we should use that name actually! Use southern people are just visitors here.

The waterfall coordinates are N 69.2004987 E 21.2784136.

Here's the waterfalls from downriver. On the left you see the black hole.

And from the other side, when I'm standing on the edge:

The path to the cave looked *very* unnerving:

And here are the pictures from the hole itself:

At the bottom of the cave, there's a small crack, growing green moss. It also seems to continue a bit on both of its ends.

Here we cross the rapids to get to the other side. We were camping on the helicopter pick-up side of the river. I think there would have a better crossing downriver but not nearby. We were able to jump on rocks for two thirds of the river, but in two places we had to step to the water. It was the last evening before the pickup, so getting our boots and pants wet was not a huge concern. This first water spot was not super deep, a bit further I went in beyond knees. The flow was pretty strong, but doable still easily even for a firsts-time river crosser like me :-)

Here Duncan is walking towards the path to go down to the cave. 

There were also at least two smaller side caves that we did not visit. On the helicopter pick-up side (east side), high up on the side wall of the canyon there's this hole, the dark area left of Duncan's hand:

Then on the west side, the same side that the bigger cave is on, there's a hole visible from the big cave towards the water. Not sure how big it is, could possibly also continue under the waterfall:

On the west side of the Pitsus river, by the waterfall, there's a stone statue:

More views:

Read more urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot or TGR. Photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko, Duncan Simey, Kimmo Suomalainen and Jarmo Ruuth. All rights reserved. 

Sauna in Hotel Merihovi

Kemi. Never been, but what a nice surprise! Nice, walkable center, boat harbors, nice restaurants, ... and a nice historic hotel, the Hotel Merihovi. We visited the sauna upon arrival, having been in the outback for a week by this time :-)

The hotel was built after the war, building started in 1946. Visitors in the hotel include the long-term president of Finland, Urho Kekkonen, and the first man in space, Cosmonaut Juri Gagarin. See more about the history of the hotel here.

Single rooms were 99€ in August, booked few hours before arrival. Great breakfast. Kemi was surprisingly empty though, for the time of the year. The schools have not started yet, one would have assumed there's more tourists around. Maybe they need to discover Kemi.

The hotel sauna had a dressing room, a lounge (pictured above), shower room, and the sauna. Sauna was quite good. There were other people so I did not take a picture this time from the inside.

The hotel also has even better saunas for private parties. I did not try them, the one we used was the one for all hotel guests, the Jukola's Sauna (Jukolan sauna).

Sauna sign and lounge:

Kemi also has a swimming hall, which wasn't open at the late evening time we where there:

The top picture in this article is the cottages at the harbor. More pictures from the harbor:

They also have a sailing club for the workers. With a nice restaurant, the only one open after 9pm :-) 

Here's a picture of the boats in sunset, and the club sign.

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. I never take recognisable photos of other saunagoers or swimmers. and try to visit at times where there is simply no one else around or the facility has been booked only for me.

The New Schengen Finnair Lounge at HEL

Finnair has redone their lounge on the Schengen side of the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Long overdue; it was cramped, almost every time quite full. Still, it wasn't bad. Quite nice, good food, enough drinks, etc. The new one is much nicer though, at least the Platinum Wing that I visited briefly before my flight in August. The new lounge is on the highest floor of the airport, where the additional security checks and priority security used to reside.

It is spacious, not crowded, good muted design, good views, private little sofa chairs, and a great (and ample) service crew.

Leaving the verdict open about the food. I found the food in the previous lounge pretty good, it was possible to have a hearty meal. Here it was maybe a bit more fine-ish but also less opportunities for having a full-sized meal. Although I *loved* the salmon soup. Because I always do :-)

Entrance:

Views:

Seats:

Food:

Of course, I stayed until the last moment, until it was "viimeinen kutsu" (last call):

For more flying stories, check out the planetflier.com website! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved.

Movie night: geology and caves in the Vis island region

Komiza is a small fishing village on the island of Vis, off the coast of Croatia. It is perhaps one of the most real feeling places that I've visited in the Croatian archipelago. The houses are old, stone-built, the streets are narrow and for walking only. The views are great. But they also have an open-air movie theater, and an information center for the UNESCO's Vis Archipelago Geopark. And I happened to hear about a movie they were premiering in the theater, about the origins of island, their caves, and geology. Including some newly published research that changes the current understanding of how the islands formed!

The traditional understanding goes back to the time of geologist Albert Fortis who sailed and studied the area 250 years ago. The understanding was that the group of islands around Vis -- Jabuka, Svetac, Brusnik, Bisevo, Ravnik, Budihovac, and Palagruza -- are of volcanic origin. In particular, that Vis and Jabuka have volcanic origins.

These origins have also played a significant role in forming Komiza on the east side of Vis. Komiza village benefits from having s shielded bay where a port could be constructed, but also from the naturally occurring springs that brought much-needed water to the village. Volcanic basalt rocks line the bay where Komiza sits, creating a barrier for the water flowing through the mountains made up of more porous rocks. This made it possible for the springs to form where leaks through the basalt occurred. You can see some of those springs and volcanic rock in this earlier post about the Kamenice Beach.

But the movie "Razgovor sa stijenama; Otoci koji rastu" (Conversation with rocks; Islands that grow) that premiered in August in Komiza shows this view may be incorrect. Geologist Tvrtka Korbara and his team has studied the situation in more detail for ten years. Turns out that what has happened is rather that a salt layer deep inside earth was pushed up and brought with it volcanic rocks. Jabuka is perhaps a volcano, but Vis isn't.

The movie theater is by the one of the oldest ones running in Croatia.

The movie featured many caves, such as the "Modra špilja" (Blue Cave, see opening picture in this post). 

And the ''Zelena špilja" (Green Cave) in the island of Ravine (few hundred meters from Vis island's south coast):

Introduction to the movie:

The island of Bisevo, which hosts the Blue Cave. This island is a 20-minute speed boat ride away from Komiza:

Komiza locals enjoying the thunderstorm:

Komiza port and center:

For other Vis-related posts, see also the post about the hidden cave or the one about the beach caves in Srebrna, or about swimming in Vis. Or the one about underground submarine base :-) 

Read more urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot or TGR. Photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. 

Dallas - Helsinki in Finnair Business Class

I used my last (possibly ever) Platinum voucher to upgrade my return flight from Dallas to Helsinki, as I was coming back from Canada using the Finnair's Dallas flight. Nice experience, particularly when Tero was also on the same flight!

Luggage: Dallas Cowboys hat, skis (for the Mt. Hood visit), caving helmets (for the Ape Cave visit), etc. Everything you need!

For more flying stories, check out the planetflier.com website! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. 

Finnair Split Flights

I took a Finnair flight from Split recently, upgraded myself on points to business class to try and stay away from the crowds in the back, given the again surging flu and covid infections... and since I need to be at the hospital for an operation soon, I can't afford to get sick. But, I was surprised how the business class service was improved by a very simple thing: after a meal, they served a bun, the "korvapuusti" (a cinnamon roll). And it was massive! Almost the size of the tray :-)

Back home I was rewarded with a magnificent sunset:

For more flying stories, check out the planetflier.com website! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved.