Åre news winter 2024

This winter it was a rush to finish everything new that had to be in place before the winter season started. No one had really expected that the snow would come and stay for good already during the autumn holidays, or that November would be the powder month on everyone’s lips. At the very least, all the village’s craftsmen, who perhaps would rather have taken turns on the mountain but kindly had to work on to meet deadlines. For the ski test weekend in the beginning of December, doors are usually opened to both old and new places as planned, and so this year as well. Here is the list of Åre news winter 2024.

New in the village

Åre gets a new service when Synsam moves to the village. The optical chain, which has recently built up a large operation on Frösön with both production and innovation locally in Jämtland, is now getting a storefront in Åre. Here you can get help with an eye exam, try out the best-looking frames and tips on how to look good even in poor light conditions. You will find Synsam in the middle of the village at Årevägen 74, where Handelsbanken was located for many years.

Synsam’s neighbor is the Swedish outdoor brand Houdini, who moves into the same house. The store moves a short distance east from the former address on Åre torg, but retains the same great selection of quality clothing that makes a small foot print on nature but a lasting impression in many Åre wardrobes.

On the other side of Synsam, a fairly recent addition to ski fashion is moving in. The Mountain Studio was started by Stefan Engström and Peter Blom, founders of Peak Performance, among others, together with the alpine dominant Marcel Hirscher. Now they are opening their second factory store here in Åre, you will find the first store in Engelberg.

Skistar’s house brand EQPE takes over Houdini’s previous premises on the square, with ski clothing and accessories for the whole family.

Aveny makes comfortable clothing with a minimalist aesthetic, easy to pack on vacation. Now they open a store at Parkvägen 3, next door to Tegel and Hälsobutiken Åre. They already have stores in classical Swedish summer resorts Visby, Smögen and Sandhamn, so Åre feels like the logical step.

New to do

Snow mobile tours without noise and exhaust emissions. Does it really work? The local activity company Åreguiderna has had the chance to test and take guests out on tours with electric snow mobiles this winter. As one of the first two players in Sweden and the only one in Åre, this winter they have nine completely electric and silent snowmobiles from Lynx with the same driving characteristics and feel as a normal snowmobile but without emissions. Imagine silently speeding out on the mountain on one of those…!

It is even more peaceful at Studio Leva in the old farmhouse in Såå, east from Åre. A yoga studio has moved in here with a range of ways to wind down and get in closer contact with yourself. Explore their activities for an even more relaxing mountain holiday.

On the fast-paced front, a bunch of events appear in Åre during the winter of 2024, most of them are recurring favorites of various kinds that we are happy to welcome here again and again. Some you want to enter wholeheartedly yourself, others are best enjoyed from the sidelines as an audience. Just to name a few, the All Mountain Masters freeskiing weekend was a premiere success among ski-enthusiastic youngsters last winter and is gearing up for a follow-up on March 15-17. In Åreskutan Skimo, the focus is perhaps more uphill than downhill, when the participants ski from Huså up to the top of Åreskutan and then turn down to the finish at the Alpine National Arena on April 6. Already in December, Åre Sessions released some of the artists for the music festival on April 25-28, let’s see if it will be Icona Pop or Viagra Boys that will blow the roof off Holiday Club. You can find all of the winter’s events here >>

There are many of us who miss Restaurant 720 by the Bräcke snow park, which burned down last summer. The gang behind the restaurant is making plans to be able to rise from the ashes for next winter, during this winter instead a test center for Armada skis will be on site at the starting point of the black line.

At Åre Sportcenter in Duved, parts of the padel hall is being rebuilt to make room for climbing walls. Åre Klätterhall, started by some climbers from the strong climbing community in Åre, will contain both rope walls and bouldering in different degrees of difficulty to suit all levels of climbers. The hall opens just in time for the spring holidays in February.

During the winter, it will once again be possible to drive a car on the ice of Lake Åresjön, which has not been possible since before the pandemic. Tracks will be plowed up again and there are eight cars on site in the village for ice driving in collaboration between Arctic driving and Explore Åre, who take care of the booking.

Food news

Even before the autumn holidays, a couple of real primal forces moved into the Lillåstugan, waffle hut which had been a bit forgotten out there in the Ullådalen meadows and was in for a quick awakening. Now the cottage is full of life, Sandra and Isabell mix the secret old waffle recipe with exciting new toppings and the occasional yoga event. Keep an eye on their Instagram feed for more surprises!

A new ski restaurant enriches the food selection in Åre’s central ski area. Between the two lifts Fjällgårdsexpressen and Tottliften where Platåkåten was previously located, Bibbos opened in December. The restaurant got its name from the nearest piste Bibbos Brant, in turn named after Granen’s former hotel manager Bibbo Nordenskiöld, who was involved in developing both Åre and the alpine skiing sport from the 1950s onwards. Now it’s the crew behind Hotel Åregården who have taken over this beautifully situated restaurant, pay a visit this winter to try out their newest contribution to Åre’s restaurant scene.

Åre Creperie was probably the one place in the village that was hit hardest by the storm Hans at the end of the summer. The restaurant has been closed for renovation since then and they expect to be able to open the doors again in January. Then we’ll all be lined up to support, aren’t we!

News on the way

This winter, Åre will be more accessible to Danish guests through a new direct flight from Copenhagen Airport. SAS flies between Kastrup and Åre-Östersund Airport every Sunday from Christmas 2023 until the end of February 2024. This flight option will also be a flexible travel option to and from Åre for guests in the South region of Sweden.

Once here, this winter there are two new taxi companies on duty in Åre to take you right up to the cabin door. Åretaxi can be reached on 0647-80000 and if you have the old taxi number 0647-50555 saved in your phone, it is now Taxiraketen that answers. Also fit to mention that industry colleagues Topptaxi Åre on 0647-22020 was deservedly awarded as Gazelle of the Year 2023 by the financial newspaper Dagens Industri.

News on the mountain

In the slopes, stage one of a two-stage rocket has been taken by the lift operator Skistar to weatherproof skiing in the Sadeln area. A new tow lift is being built for this winter, and next winter it will be supplemented with a connecting tow lift that can take skiers over to the slopes in central Åre even when the wind is too strong for the Sadelexpressen chair lift to run. Weather protection is also underway in Duved, where the upper station of the chair lift has been built in to protect the lift, and in Tegefjäll, where a new snow making system has been installed. In addition to that, Skistar has built a new bridge at Fjällgården during the autumn since the storm Hans dragged the previous one with electricity lines and a lot of other things in his way.

During this winter, Skistar begins to communicate how they are working to make their operations more sustainable, an effort that has been going on for several years with the aim of maintaining white winters also in the future. In Åre, several practical measures have been put in place, where Skistar has come the furthest in switching to renewable fuels in its vehicles and switching to renewable or self-produced energy. Read more here about their sustainability initiatives.