Åre, Sweden – Workers in Åre are busy this summer, undertaking one of the popular Swedish ski resort’s biggest lift expansions ever.
No fewer than three new lifts will debut at Åre by December, increasing the resort’s uphill capacity by more than 5,000 riders per hour. The new lifts are situated at strategically important bases to focus on accessibility and efficiency.
“This is one of the largest investments in lifts ever made in the Scandinavian mountains,” explains Niclas Sjögren Berg, Destination Manager SkiStar Åre. “With the new chairlifts, Åre will be in line with the leading resorts in the Alps. From an international perspective Åre is already regarded as a skiers’ Mecca without the crowding. The improvements now under way with the new lifts and pistes will provide for even better and more skiing in the less weather exposed section, in the lower zone in Åre.”
Åre’s new Tegeliften quad chairlift to replace the T-bar that currently exists in Tegefjäll. It’s 1,100 meters long (3,609 feet) with a vertical drop of 275 meters (902 feet). Uphill capacity of the new lift will reach 2,400 people per hour, double that of the previous T-bar.
The new Fjällgårdsexpressen six-seater chairlift will quickly transport skiers from Fjällgården up to the Sadeln area, with a capacity of 2,400 people per hour. With a length 1,200 meters (3,937 feet) and a vertical drop 270 meters (886 feet), there is no lift currently at this location — it’s a brand new uphill transport for Åre. The resort’s Tottliften will remain in its current form.
Finally, the new Sadelexpressen six-seater chairlift will take guests from Åre’s Högåsliften’s valley station in Björnen to the top of Sadelliften, with a capacity of 2,800 people per hour. The new mile-long chairlift (1,600 meters), with a vertical drop of 302 meters (991 feet), will replace the current Sadelliften, which will be dismantled.
Fjällgårdsexpressen and Sadelexpressen are important to the development of Åre’s Björnen area, popular with families, and conveniently link with the lift and trail system in central Åre. Meanwhile, runs are being widened, forests thinned and new trails added, increasing Åre’s skiable area by 13 hectares (32 acres).