I’m not the biggest fan of New Year’s Eve so this year I thought it would be good to get out there and do something different. For 2007 this meant going skiing. We chose Åre, Sweden which is north east of Stockholm and practically on the Sweden/Norway border. There is something just magical about being at a ski resort and this week turned out to be the perfect way to introduce the new year.

Photos are here.

The Experience

We flew into Ostersund airport not really knowing where that was. Åre is actually supposed to be Sweden’s number one ski resort and usually has really good snow records – so much so that they are holding the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in just over a month’s time here. The lake, eventually frozen by the end of the week, made a superb background but the temps will have to get much colder before I would feel safe using it as a car park as they plan to do for the Championships.

As New Year’s Eve grew closer I started to worry that we wouldn’t have any snow to ski on with Europe experiencing what must have been the mildest temps over this period in a long while. Luckily on New Year’s Eve my wish was granted and on New Year’s Day we woke up to a magnificent snow covered Åre (great for snowball fights and building scary looking snowmen!).

“Sweeping mountains, pine clad forests and colourful homesteads” as described by the brochure is exactly how Åre turned out to be – pretty picture perfect for our skiing. The only downside being that the resort actually consists of three bases (Åre, Årebjornen and Duved) so you need to travel if you want to visit all of them. And although there is a free bus service proved to be a pain to get around on it due to the lack of more regular services and so many skiers/snowboarders. Of the three areas you definitely want to stay in Åre if you want some action, Årebjornen is more for families whereas Duved is extremely remote (but just the thing if you want a peaceful holiday.)

We stayed in the Årefjallby Apartments which is located right next to the Olympia chair lift where much of the World Champs action will occur. Unfortunately as beginners we ended up on another slope and not at the one conveniently located next to us. The apartments were extremely comfortable and well fitted out.

New Year’s Eve

Åre is definitely a beautiful destination but perhaps arriving on New Year’s Eve without pre-booking any tickets to the two or was it three night clubs in the Årea was a bit of a mistake. Luckily for us it didn’t turn out so bad with everyone piling into Åre Square anyway to welcome in the New Year. I think the average age of the square though was about 17! The scariest thing was the fireworks going off all over the place including in the crowd. There’s always one or two idiots!

Here is some video of the fireworks:

The Skiing

The skiing fantastic. Jules and Sandra had never skied before and although Steve and I had been before it wasn’t for very long and was many seasons ago so re-learning was a lot of fun and I definitely had more confidence coming down the slopes this time than I did before. The most frightening aspect was trying not to fall off the t-bars. What a nightmare but it was amazing once you got to the top of a mountain. Views were breathtaking. As usual the ski boots absolutely killed my gigantic calves but once I started skiing with them unbuckled it made it a lot more comfortable.

The ski days are fairly short which actually turned out to be just the right amount of time to get in a decent amount of skiing yet not leave you dying by the end of the day. There was night skiing available on some slopes but unfortunately not on any of the beginner ones.

Apres-skiing

All three resorts are reported to give great non-ski winter activities but much of this is dependent on the weather. We were most disappointed not to be able to go snowmobiling though Sandra and I chose to forgo a day of skiing to spend an afternoon with the sweet Alaskan huskies. They weren’t what we expected them to look like but they were very sweet, worked really hard to pull us around and full of energy (they were funniest when they were going to the bathroom while they were running!). This has to be seen to be believed – watch out for the dog on the left at the back:

We also spent an evening at Tannforsen which was supposed to be Europe’s largest frozen waterfall. I’m sure it would have been magnificent if only it could have been cold enough to freeze.

Åre’s nickname is little Stockholm – a relaxed atmosphere, stylish with a funky edge. During the week its fairly laid back but visit any of the hot spots, in particular the Broken Bar, just after the ski day has finished and you would be hard pressed to find a seat/table to relax at. It made for a good atmosphere though. Oh, also, a visit to Sauna World at the Holiday Club is a must. Not only are there 6 or 7 different saunas to try, you also get the ice plunge pool and ice room, an indoor slide and a huge pool with jacuzzis, water massages, and a wave pool. It was definitely the way to end our week in Åre.