News For The Year At SkiStar Åre

News for the year at SkiStar Åre – 10/11

Extensive investments at the Björnen area:
New and wider slopes
The interest in skiing at the Björnen area has strongly increased over the last few years. To meet the increasing number of guests, SkiStar has this year prepared new slopes and made existing slopes wider. The blue and red slopes have been built on the west and east sides of Totthummeln.

New energy-efficient snow-making system
As a part of Björnen's face-lift, a new snow–making system has also been built. The facility is completely automatic with a low-energy tower. The capacity of the snow facility is 400 m3/hr which will increase the snow guarantee in Björnen and strengthen the snow system of central Åre.

A new T-bar between Högåsvägen and Viksvängen
A 1,000 meter long T-bar lift is being built between Högåsen and Björnen with a capacity for 1,200 people per hour. The new lift will give the newly planned accommodations ”Västra Björnen” so-called ”ski in ski out” accessibility. The lift is planned to be complete in November.

More personal ski lessons within SkiStar Experience
This year personal ski instructors are being introduced into the SkiStar Experience. This arrangement is based on guest's goals e.g. conquering the rear side of Åreskutan or learning to feel more comfortable skiing on icy surfaces. The difference from having the usual ski instructor is that the guest has the same instructor during the entire season and the tips include more than just the skiing itself but also e.g. a training schedule for the gym. SkiStar Åre has chosen a handful of the Nordic countries’ best ski instructors who will be included in the Experience concept. Reservations can be made via skistarexperience.com or at one of the many Skistar shops in Åre.

New family area in Åre
This year we introduce the Family Hangout, which is a playground for the whole family, in ski areas Duved, Tege Rödkullen and Björnen. Family Hangout includes, among other things, characters such as Appe the moose, small jumps and rails, a "gladiator track" with sand sack suspended and a snowball wall where all the children can practise throwing a bull's eye. Different family-friendly activities will be arranged during the season in Family Hangout (both with and without skis) such as competitions and shows.

New button lift in Åre
Starting this year, SkiStar Åre offers all parents of small children the option of buying a so-called button lift card. The button lift cards (as the name suggests) gives access to all button lifts in Åre and to Åre Bergbana (cabin car). The button lift card costs much less than the ordinary SkiPass and is for parents who ski with their children and do not need to move around the rest of the ski system.

Event calendar for SkiStar Åre – 10/11

Week 39
Autumn Market- October 1-3

Week 48-49
Advent weekends in Åre
Enjoy Åre in Christmas dress and shop for Christmas presents without any stress. Åre's boutiques have filled their stores for another winter.

Week 49
Snow, tests and parties in Åre - December 10-12
The Lucia weekend is a perfect start to a new ski winter. Ski all day for 54 hours and enjoy many other pleasant experiences.

Week 51-52
White Christmas in Winterland - December 23-30
Sparkling white snow and days filled with skiing, topped off with good Christmas food and enjoying yourself in front of the fire. Meet Santa and his elves in Åre.

Weeks 2-6
Family weeks in Åre Björnen
Take the whole family along and enjoy a wonderful week in Åre Björnen. We fill the week with activities and competitions for the whole family.

Weeks 3-5
Student card Ski Week Åre 2011
The student's week in Åre. The winter's largest and primarily most fun winter sport event for the country's geniuses is launched in Åre on Sunday to Thursday, weeks 3, 4 and 5. More information at www.skiweekare.se

Week 6
RIX FM in Årefjällen - February10-13
The MorronZoo gang and the elite artists of Sweden take over Åre. During the Rix FM week in Åre guests will be entertained on both the slopes as well as at Afterski and nightclubs.

Week 6
Ice harness racing on Åre Lake - February 11

Week 6
The North Face Ski Challenge 2011 - February 12-13
An awesome competition for youths between 12 and 18 years of age who love free skiing and park skiing. For two days the youths are judged in how they ski off-piste as well as in the park. For more information www.thenorthface.com/skichallenge

Weeks 7-10
Winter Break Weeks in Åre
During each week there will be lots of activities for the whole family.

Week 8
FIS Ladies WC - February 25-27
Week 10
Freestyle WC - Marsch 11-12
Guests are offered a real show when the elite hit the moguls in Åre. For two days the world's best mogul-skiers compete against each other. Speed, technique and jumps are judged by critical judges. Single mogul on Friday and parallel mogul on Saturday.

Weeks 11-15
Adventurer's, Pleasure-seeker's & Families' weeks
Come to Åre and enjoy wonderful skiing, pleasant company, new experiences and entertaining evenings. Shared joy is double the joy!

Week 12
Carlsberg High Five - March 26
Last year's success returns to Åre! A chance for those who love skiing and winter to meet and challenge the big profiles in five exciting disciplines. Probably the world's best afterski.

Weeks 14-15
Jon Olsson Super Session
The world star Jan Olsson is coming to Åre with many of the world's best skiers. This winter the concept is even more extensive, for a larger public...

Weeks 16 & 17
Easter in Åre
The weather, the food, the light, the mountain, the snow and the skiing. It can't get any more Easter than this!

Week 17
ÅRE'S BEST WEEKEND
A national holiday beyond the usual with the year's largest afterski including a few of Sweden's best artists at Åre's square. The entire weekend will simmer with skiing and parties with full steam at the nightclubs.

Freeride 2011 - April 28 - May 1
Squeeze the last out of winter in Åre during a week filled with awesome skiing as Åreskutan becomes a large playground for all the jibbers and other ski enthusiasts.

Skutskjutet 2011/Valborg - April 30
Participate in the world's largest downhill competition for the entire family. Gather the gang and join the team class or one of the other 25 different classes.

SkiStar Hot Dog Challenge - May 1
Be a part and experience the happy 80's! Fun and comical! Entertainment, socialising or competition, it's up to you to choose. Nice Afterski in Snobbränn at Fjällgården afterwards. Say goodbye to winter and welcome the spring! Some take the last ski turns for the year on a snow-covered Åreskuta while others pedal for the first time on a downhill bike on Kälkspåret.
Note! This programme is preliminary and may be subject to change. For the latest updates please see www.skistar.com/are. Each week also has its own weekly program where all activities in the ski area are presented.

Facts about Åre

Åre is Scandinavia's main alpine city with an international atmosphere. Åre is a modern ski city with a long history. The train stops in the middle of the village and there are two international airports within an hour's travel time. Åre was host to the Alpine World Championships in 2007 which says a lot for the downhill skiing. In Åre you will find, in addition to wonderful skiing, a number of restaurants offering culinary experiences as well as shopping that is not always found in a village. Åre is top class and one of the most well-visited winter destinations in the Nordic countries. The ski area stretches from Duved in the west via Åre village to Åre Björnen in the east. Åre is located about 620 km from Stockholm and 140 km from Trondheim, Norway. Read more about Åre's history on the next page.

Lifts - 47:
33 T-bar lifts
5 chair lifts
1 telemix lift
1 mountain railway
1 gondola lift
1 cable car
5 carpet lifts

Slopes: 105:
18 green (very easy)
43 blue (easy)
36 red (medium difficult)
5 black (difficult)
3 ungroomed/unmonitered

(Since certain descents can include different degrees of difficulty, the degree of difficulty is estimation)

Lift capacity: Approx. 49,660 persons/hour.

Flood lights: 7 pistes.

Longest slope: 6.5 km.

Total length of groomed pistes: Approx. 100 km (4,450,000 m2 groomed area.)

Maximum drop: 890 m.

Maximum skiable drop (snow cat): 1,035 m.

Highest prepared ski height: 1,274 meters asl

Åreskutan's top: 1,420 meters asl.

Snow guarantee: At least 10 pistes are open between December 10 and May 1.

Number of children's areas: 4.

Parks: 3 dream parks.

Groomed cross country tracks: approx. 58 km, of which 15.5 have electric lighting.

Number of beds: approx. 31,000.

Number of visitors: 1,060,422 ski days (winter 09/10)

Restaurants: approx 50

Bars & nightclubs: approx. 15

Examples of other activities and destinations: Snow scooters, hang-gliding, dog-sledding, SPAs, Zipline, afterski, shopping, Moosegarden, chocolate factory, experience bathing, snaps testing, riding tours, Tännforsen (rapids), Fröå mine, snowmobile tours, outdoor bathing, ice climbing, etc.