Walking through the woods is one of the great pleasures of living in Finland, but during the winter it gets interrupted for many people as forest trails are turned into ski tracks.
That means they're out of bounds for walkers, and those who need level, well-maintained surfaces can end up staying indoors rather than getting that fresh air.
That's what listener Kathleen Martin told us, as she asked why her local trails — and many others — are out of bounds for walkers during the winter.
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"Common sense fairness suggests that some small portion of tax collection be allocated to the rights of pedestrians to also breathe forest air in the winter on those wide, level and well-lit trails with appropriate new signs," asked Kathleen.
"Why should everyone subsidize the sport of skiing when, wisely enough, we expect other sports requiring a large tract of land to be privately subsidised by the enthusiasts themselves? Why should only skiers get to breathe fresh forest air all winter?"
We found out that outdoor organisations have a plan to deal with this, but it is implemented on the local level — and that means walkers have to advocate for themselves at local councils.
Ronan also left his comfort zone to confront ice swimming, a quintessentially Finnish activity that had previously left him cold — in more ways than one.
He accompanied Peter Bull, an ice swimming enthusiast from Tampere, to Kaupinoja sauna in Tampere and heard about the benefits of taking a dip in the frigid waters.
"Every time, it doesn't matter how many times you've been to the avanto, you still ask yourself that question: what am I doing to myself?" said Bull. "Knowing the pain that lies ahead, but it's that first kind of 15-20 seconds and you're breathing through it and then you're in the water and then you almost get to a meditative state."
Priya Ramachandran D'souza then told us about her story covering foreigners' struggles to get into winter sports, despite having no childhood training in the disciplines.
It's not easy, but it can be done, and Priya gives some practical tips on how to find your skiing (or skating) feet.
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Ronan Browne and Egan Richardson presented this episode of All Points North, with additional reporting by Priya Ramachandran D'Souza. The sound engineer was Laura Koso.
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