SkiStar’s winter season gets off to a glorious early start this weekend with Åre, Trysil and Vemdalen all officially opening on Friday November 15, with a historic first for Åre.
 
For the first time ever, the gondola will open in Åre at 8am on Friday November 15, with skiing in the high area available from the very start of the season. Optimal snowmaking conditions, snowfall and the investment made to Åre’s snowmaking system ahead of last February’s FIS Alpine World Ski Championships means the upper downhill race will be on offer to skiers eager to get out on the slopes.
 
“We have had optimal conditions to allow us to open,” says Niclas Sjögren Berg, Resort Manager at SkiStar Åre. “Winter and the ski season are here in Åre and we look forward to 170 days of skiing.”
 
The combination of perfect snowmaking conditions and snowfall has also benefited SkiStar’s other Scandinavian resorts of Trysil, Sälen, Vemdalen and Hemsedal, bringing winter to the mountains in mid-November. Trysil and Vemdalen open this weekend while Sälen, Sweden’s largest ski destination, will welcome guests from November 22, with Lindvallen the first area to open. In Hemsedal, the season will begin with a sneak preview and free skiing this weekend before completely opening on Friday, 22 November.
 
“We are so excited to welcome skiers back to the slopes in Trysil, especially with the launch of Scandinavian Mountains Airport next month,” says Turid Viken, Marketing Manager at SkiStar Trysil. “Trysil is already popular with the UK market and the new airport makes it so much easier to get here from the UK – just a two hour flight from Heathrow and 40 minute transfer. We’ve been working hard to prepare and couldn’t have asked for better conditions to kick-start the season.”
 
Book accommodation, kit hire, ski passes, ski school, childcare and more at skistar.com. More detailed information about which lifts and slopes are open will be announced on skistar.com over the coming weeks.
 
NEW DIRECT SAS FLIGHT FROM HEATHROW TO SCANDINAVIAN MOUNTAINS AIRPORT

• The brand new Scandinavian Mountains Airport welcomes the first direct SAS flight from London Heathrow on December 28.
• The weekly direct flight runs throughout the ski season on Saturdays.
• SAS flights to Heathrow to Scandinavian Mountains Airport via Copenhagen are also available during the week.
• Adult return tickets start from £155.
• Transfers from the airport to the nearest ski area in Sälen take 10 minutes while transfers to Trysil take from 40 minutes.
• Direct flights can be booked at flysas.com