SOOPA in English

SOOPA is the scout troop of the University of Oulu. We're interested in many kinds of outdoor, scouting and sports activities.

We've had many foreign people to join our trips, for example exchange students from Italy, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, Japan... and they've all survived! So if you're interested, don't hesitate to contact us and ask more. We try to keep some short basic information about the next events here on the web site (often we fail to do so in English). (There is also a mailing list of SOOPA http://lists.oulu.fi/mailman/listinfo/soopa but the most of postings are only in Finnish.)

If you want to know more about some specific event, just drop a line to the person who's mentioned after that happening.

In order to take part in our happenings, you should pay a 7 € membership fee to our bank account,

IBAN:      FI72 574136 20057718
SWIFT/BIC: OKOYFIHH
Reference number: 11510 

Next events

Easter Hike 2012

SOOPAs (University of Oulu Scout troop) traditional Easter Hike will this year be heading to Sweden. On the hike, we are looking forward to deep snow and high summits – and of course great company and unforgettable downhill experiences.

We are leaving for the hike on Wednesday evening, April 4th, and will be back in Oulu on the following Wednesday evening, April 11th. You are welcome to join the hike even if you are not a Scout or have no previous winter hike experiences – however, skiing skills are essential.

SOOPAs Easter Hike is a week-long skiing-trip in the mountains. We will divide in small groups and ski about 50 to 100 km during the hike, depending on the wishes of the group. Some days can also be set aside for short day trips with light bag packs, and you might then climb to the summit of a nearby mountain.

During the hike we will be sleeping in tents, thus winter-proof sleeping equipment is essential. However, also the other gear should be appropriate for winter hiking. This gear list for easterhike in Finnish. gives you an overview of the most important equipment. There is also some group gear, but you do not have to own all the group gear yourself, the groups are put together in a way that all groups will have the needed equipment, and winter-proof tents can be borrowed from SOOPA without charge. Moreover, you can also rent skis and rubber boots from SOOPA, for more information ask the equipment manager.

The group size during the hike will be about 6 people. We will arrange the groups according to fitness level and hiking skills as well as to individual wishes. In each group there will also be some more experienced winter hikers.

Food will be prepared in small cooking groups, usually consisting of 2 people. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be needed for each hiking day, and the cooking groups can decide themselves what they would like to take. For meal suggestions look here: doc format pdf format plain text format

The hike is challenging, thus especially first-time hikers should take their time to prepare themselves and check their equipment carefully. Advice and tricks can be found in the gear list or in the chronicles from former hikes. And of course questions are always welcome.

A pre-trip meeting will be arranged so that you will get to know your fellow group members and think about the route you want to take. Moreover, the groups can check that they have all the needed group gear and assign cooking groups for the hike. The meeting will take place on March 20th 2012, 18:00 in Linnanmaa. The exact location will be announced later.

Most likely we will travel to Sweden by bus. Pick-up places are at the bus station in the city center, in Tuira (Merikoskenkatu) or at Linnanmaa (bus station in front of door T2). The times for departure will be announced later. If necessary, the departure from the central bus station will be arranged according to the arrival times of trains coming from the south. When we return to Oulu, you can be dropped off at the above mentioned places.

The costs for the hike are 80 to 100 €. About half of this (40 €) is to be paid when you sing up. The price includes transportation as well as sauna and a buffet lunch on the way back. The price does not include any insurance, thus everyone is responsible for that individually. You also have to pay SOOPAs member or supporting member fee for 2012 to take part in the hike.

Please note that you should take along breakfast to eat on the bus for the first day as well as towels, shampoo and fresh clothes in a separate bag for the after-hike sauna. Those things can stay on the bus during the hike (you do not have to carry them).

Signing up

There is a sign-up sheet on the internet: online form.

The last day for signing up is February 29th (24:00). The hike is arranged in cooperation with the Scout troop Pohjan Veikot, thus only the fastest 28 SOOPA hikers will get a space on the bus. Preference is given to SOOPA members.

If there is still space left on the bus, you can also try to participate after the sign-up period has ended by contacting us. However, we will charge a 15 € fee in case of late sign-up.

Payment

All payments have to be made to SOOPAs bank account:

IBAN:      FI72 574136 20057718
SWIFT/BIC: OKOYFIHH
Reference number 11594

1) All participants have to pay 40 € until February 29th to reserve their place on the hike. Those 40€ will not be returned without a good reason (e.g. if you get sick).

2) The remaining 40 to 60€ are due at least one week before the hike starts. The final price for the hike will be announced after the sign-up period has ended.

Hikers must be SOOPA members or supporting members.

In the unlikely event that the hike is cancelled, all payments will be reimbursed and you can also ask the member fee back if you do not plan to attend any other SOOPA events.

So welcome to the Easter Hike!

English Stories

Kaamos 2010 - an international group's report
Kaamos 2007 - Active I
Kaamos 2006 - Lederhosen (partly in English)
Easter 2005 - Cielo a pecorelle...
Kaamos 2005 - The International Holiday Group
Midsummer paddling 1997 (English summary in the end)
Team Balance's Easter hike1998
Kayak group's autumn hike

A German Story

Trip zum Halti

Pictures

Some pictures, taken in the beginning of 2006
A few pictures of our activities in 2004