Small Swedish Ski Area to Become International Destination Ski Resort
SkiStar, the corporation which runs half-a-dozen of the leading ski areas in Scandinavia, including the biggest, Sweden’s Åre, and also ventured in to the Alps, buying St Johann in Tirol a few winters ago, has said it plans to make the little known Swedish ski area of ‘Hundfjället’ an international destination ski resort in just over 18 months.
They’re starting by investing 10 million Euros this summer in the area, with the majority of the investment going on what the company say will be Scandinavia’s most modern chairlift, an 8-seater express lift built by Italian company Leitner and designed by Pininfarina who work on Ferrari car design.
Hundfjället will also get new ski runs, expanded snow-making facilities and an overhaul and upgrade of almost all of its facilities.
Why?
Well SkiStar, which will host the Alpine Skiing World Championships again at Åre in 2019 and who have just published the best half-year results in their history, have also been investing in a brand new airport.
Construction of the ‘Scandinavian Mountains’ airport, located between the Swedish ski resort of Sälen and Trysil in Norway is underway and the timetable for the first plane to land in December 2019 still stands.
Hundfjället is part of the larger Sälen resort and the closest to the airport, located less than 10 minutes away.
“The new investment is an important step in developing SkiStar Sälen into an international ski resort. Hundfjället’s ski area is being totally transformed so that the skiing will be both more accessible and more enjoyable. The new express chairlift is unique in Scandinavia and a really special experience, offering a high level of comfort through heated seats and wind protection, plus a stylish design,” explains Jonas Bauer, Manager for SkiStar Sälen.
The new express chairlift, the West Express Hundfjället, will open on 14 December 2018 and will operate from the middle of the centre square, from where it will head up the west side of the mountain.
The existing, long T-bar lifts that head up the west side of the mountain will be shortened. There will be two brand new button lifts covering the remaining stretch for greater comfort in the children’s and family area at Trollskogen – the enchanted forest – which is one of Northern Europe’s most popular family ski areas.
SkiStar say its skier day numbers increased by 5 percent at the start of the season compared with the same period last year, in part due to good snow conditions.
