Checkpoints

offroadfinnmark 700 has 13 checkpoints. On this page there's a description of the checkpoints.

Checkpoints along the offroadfinnmark itinerary

0. Race start from Alta town center

Alta is the decidedly largest town in Finnmark with its 18,200 inhabitants. The town is growing steadily, unlike most other localities in Finnmark. Alta is well known for its amazing salmon river, it's slate, which covers many roofs all around Europe, and not least for one of the best ski jumpers in history, Bjørn Wirkola. The surrounding areas are ideal for an active lifestyle, perfect for cycling in the summer and skiing in the winter, though many inhabitants prefer their snowmobiles.

In terms of ancient history, Alta is known for the Komsa culture, which gives evidence that people have lived here for thousands of years. Further evidence of this can be found at the Hjemmeluft rock carving site, which has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list. At the end of World War II Alta, like most of Finnmark, Alta was burnt to the ground during the German army's retreat except for a couple of churches.

Nowadays the town is a blossoming trade center, boasting the world's northernmost university college (Finnmark U.C.), the highest snowmobile frequency in Norway and a town center that is often compared to that of an American prairie town.

The Prologue departs from Kåfjord and ascends to the Haldde summit at 904 meters, where the world's first northern lights observatory was constructed a century ago. Kåfjord is located 15 km from Alta and is well known for its rich copper mines that were closed almost 100 years ago. Towards the end of World War II, it also served as a base for the German warship Tirpitz.

1. Sørstraumen in Kvænangen, Troms County

Our first checkpoint is the only one which is not located in Finnmark. These parts of Northern Troms are situated in the border zone between one landscape type and another. In North Troms the coast is lined with high mountains rising from sea level to above 1000 meters, such as the famous Lyngen Alps. Further north, the landscape is dominated by mountain plains and lower mountain ranges, a topographical area which continues eastward all the way to Siberia.

The checkpoint is a school/kindergarten by the E6 bridge in Sørstraumen. The riders sleep in classrooms, and the school has good parking facilities.

Go to Kvænangen kommune and Nord-Troms for more information.

2. Biedjovagge

This tent camp checkpoint is situated close to a former copper mine. All that's left of the copper mine is an old storage building. The riders can spend the night here in tents. The checkpoint is accessible by car, via Kautokeino.

3. Kautokeino

When travelling across Finnmark, the best place to experience the magic beauty of the "vidda", the mountain plateau, is between Alta and the Finnish border. Right outside the town center of Kautokeino - the Sámi capital - you will find Juhl's Silver Gallery, a marvelous building with the best view of this traditional Sámi village.

The Kautokeino checkpoint is a school building in the town centre with good parking facilities and a grocery store nearby. Kautokeino is Norway's largest county boasting 9704 km2, just about the equivalent of the Oslo, Akershus and Østfold counties combined, it's even a bit bigger than Cyprus! At the beginning of 2006 Kautokeino had 2998 inhabitants.

4. Maze

In the center of the small Sámi village of Maze we have set up a checkpoint in a community house/school building. There's also a grocery store nearby. Maze rose to national fame in the 1970s, when the Norwegian government planned to flood the whole village as a result of the Alta power plant construction.

5. Suossjavre

This checkpoint is a privately owned mountain cabin which offers both food and accommodation.

6. Nedre (Lower) Mollisjok

Lower Mollisjok Mountain Cabin is a privately owned cabin accomodating as much as 50 guests if need be. The cabin has got showers, WC and a sauna.

7. Ravnastua

The Ravnastua mountain cabin provides accommodation for 30 guests.

8. Karasjok

Apart from it's beautiful and exciting surroundings, today's Karasjok is a social and cultural nexus for the Norwegian Sámi. Important Sámi institutions have been established here, such as the Sámediggi (the Sámi Parliament), the Sámi Radio division of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, and the national museum called The sami Collections. Karasjok has over 3000 inhabitants, mostly Sámi. The village has a supermarket with all the groceries you need, and more.

9. Valjok

A beautiful checkpoint on the Tana River, one of the world's best salmon rivers! Valjok has no more than a handful of permanent residents, but the site gets livelier in the summer.

10. Skoganvarre

Skoganvarre is located in a beautiful natural environment, close to mountain tundra, fishing lakes, hunting terrain, attractive hiking areas and salmon fishing in the Lakselva River. Service teams can stay in Skoganvarre Turist Camping, which has 12 small apartments with a shower, a toilet, a TV, a kitchen, a living room and two bedrooms. In addition, there are 19 cabins with cooking facilities and conference rooms.

11. Jotkavann checkpoint by the road

This checkpoint is located by the road at the far end of the Jotka lake. We've created this checkpoint to ensure sufficient technical support after the ride across the mountain. The next checkpoint can not be reached by car.

12. Jotka

The Jotka mountain cabin, which provides accommodation for 32 visitors, is one of 3 remaining cabins that were once founded by the Norwegian government. These cabins were established in 1840, primarily to give government officials such as priests, police constables, physicians, tax collectors, etc. - somewhere to spend the night while on errands across the "vidda", the mountain plateau. The average distance between cabins was set at about 30 km, considering the time it would take to walk on foot, ride on a horse or on a cart. Reindeers were sometimes also used for transportation. Jotka's mountain cabin was not burnt down in World War II and still includes old buildings, the oldest one being from 1878. The person who manages the cabin is called an "oppsitter". This is an occupation which has passed on from generation to generation.

13. Sorrisniva

The very last checkpoint is located by the bridge crossing the Alta river. Sorrisniva is one of the largest and most popular tourism destinations in Alta, during the winter the ice hotel is located here. During the summer however, it's a very popular location for fishing, which has made the Alta river a very popular destination for fishing enthusiasts.