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Skiing in Sweden’s winter wonderland
The Swedes are among the most enthusiastic skiers in the world and the country has already produced many world champions. Sweden boasts around 200 ski regions, from the south (even within the city of Stockholm) all the way to above the Arctic Circle. Most ski resorts are equipped to accommodate skiers, snowboarders and cross-country skiers. One thing is certain: there will be snow, lots and lots of snow.
Sweden’s love of skiing means that popular ski destinations such as Sälen and Åre are often fully booked months in advance. But fortunately the ski season is quite long: in Lapland it runs from October through May. But unlike in the Alps, skiing in Sweden can easily be combined with other winter activities, from snow-shoeing and ice fishing to snowmobiling and dog-sledding. Fully organised day trips are also very popular: you can leave early in the morning, travel a few hours by bus, spend the afternoon skiing and then return to Stockholm in the evening. Here are the top 3 places to ski.
Winter fun on 28 ski runs: Romme Alpin
Romme Alpin in Dalarna is Sweden’s largest ski area and is still relatively close to the capital. Even the most daring skiers will enjoy this resort. The 2 hills boast 13 lifts and 28 ski runs, ranging from pleasant green slopes to hair-raising black. The ski area is an easy day tour or weekend trip from Stockholm. Another option is to spend the night on the ski slope at the Ski Lodge in a mini suite with a private sauna. Every year in March, the ski resort hosts the world’s oldest cross-country skiing marathon, the 90-kilometre-long Wasaloop.
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Romme Alpin, Koppslahyttan 111, 781 98 Borlänge
The best ski area in the world: Åre
If it were up to Årenaren, the Olympic Games would soon be coming to town: this ski resort in central Sweden has been a host candidate 6 times, but still hasn’t managed to bring home the Olympic flame. The resort has hosted various world championships, and British travel magazine ‘Condé Nast Traveller’ named Åre the best ski resort in the world. The ski area offers 46 ski lifts and 108 ski runs, including 5 black runs and 11 ungroomed runs. You may spend the night in a designer hotel or even an igloo. Åre is the only Scandinavian ski resort where the après-ski scene goes on until dawn.
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830 13, Åre
The coldest ski resort: Riksgränsen
200 kilometres above the Arctic Circle, Riksgränsen boasts 18 groomed and 15 ungroomed ski runs. This is not the largest ski resort in Sweden but certainly the coldest: temperatures regularly dip below minus 50. The first snow falls in mid-September and doesn’t melt until June. Around the longest day of the year the ski runs stay open late so everyone can ski under the midnight sun. The trip from Stockholm is beautiful: a 24-hour train ride aboard the Norrland-train through a spectacular winter wonderland takes you straight to the front door of Hotel Riksgränsen, the only accommodation in the area.
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981 94, Riksgränsen
Photo credits
- Romme Alpin, the largest ski area in South-Sweden: Marcus Linder, Flickr
- World-class ski resort: Åre: Jakob Krantz, Flickr
- Riksgränsen: out of bounds skiing and heli-skiing: Jörgen Nybrolin, Flickr
