This is the leg!

The leg Karasjok-Jotka

The leg starts on the Karasjokka river towards Assebakte which is approx. 20 km after Karasjok. At Assebakte starts the steep hills to the mountain plateau. Also the mushers get exercise on these hills.

When on top, the terrain flattens out toward Ravnastua Mountain Inn. After Ravnastua they cross Hundevidda - an open plateau with a bad reputation. Hundevidda in good weather is a nice and pleasant trip. However, it is common to meet both wind and snow on the plain so the stretch may change from pleasant to challenging (just ask Karl Petter Beldo who went missing on Hundevidda for x days in 1993 - when the race had storm and hurricane).

Hundevidda ends when one goes down to Øvre Mollisjok. From there the trail continues across some small lakes until it reaches the Iesjavri lake. This lake is approx. 10 km long. If there is a whiteout you'll see nothing but white in all directions. It is impossible to see whether one goes up or down. And this stretch may be very challenging for the dogs who already are tired mentally after a long race. Iesjavri could simply be called Finnmarksløpet's biggest parking lot, both because of its size and the number of teams that "Park" there. The mushers joke about booking a room at "hotel Iesjavri"... 

When finally touching land after the Iesjavri lake there are finally some hills and rocks meet the eyes before returning to Jotka.

The leg between Jotka and Alta is special for all competitors as the end of the race is getting close. At this time the racers have mixed feelings; relief, joy about being at the finish soon, and at the same time sadness because the race is over soon.

They leave Jotka, cross osme lakes towards Gamas, continuing to Bollo and down the Alta river, to Sorrisniva and at the very end they must climb the steep hill from Aronnes, towards the city centre and the finish line.

This is a tough leg for both the dogs and mushers even though they are close to the finish line. Dogs and mushers are physically and psycologically tired and that the dogs might want to "park" is something that the mushers want to avoid.

Then - on the way towards the goal line 'Conquest of Paradise' by Vangelis is played over the loudspeakers in the pedestrian area of the city centre. This is exactly what the mushers and dogs have done - conquered the mountains plateau of Finnmark for 6-7 days. They have had an intense meeting with the winter landscape. At the finish line handlers, family, the people of Alta, the media and Finnmarksløpet awaits. Congratulations with the impressive achievement!