Are is a well-known ski resort in Jämtland, Sweden, approximately 80 km from the city of Östersund. The ski lift system is on the Åreskutan mountain with its highest peak at a height of 1420 meters, but the highest lift ends at 1260 meters, so the peak has to be reached by a snowmobile lift. The village and ski area are accessible by bus and train. The nearest airport is Åre Östersund Airport.
Taking advantage of the Åreskutan fell, the major center for alpine skiing in Sweden has become (Åre (ski area)), sporting more than 30 modern ski-lifts. It hosted the Alpine World Championships in 1954 and 2007, and the annual Jon Olsson Invitational freeskiing competition, ending in 2007.
Are would also have been the secondary site for the alpine events of Östersund in its bid for the organization of the XXII Olympic Winter Games, the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Are has since the 1990-ies become the largest mountainbike resort in Sweden. In 1999 it was the host for the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships and it hosted the Nordic Championships 2007. There are numerous graded biking trails down the mountain. The Åre Bikepark is open from 1 May until 15 October and is the host for the Mayhem Festival.
During summer Åre can also sport hiking, paragliding, kayaking, and a golf course about 15 minutes form the village. In July every year there is a multisport competition in Åre - Åre Extreme Challenge. It counts as the Scandivian championship in multisport.
WHAT TO DO
Skiing
Åre is probably most famous for the skiing, and the Åre ski area contains three different areas. These are:
Björnen
Central Åre and Högzon (High zone) (Also including Rödkullen)
Duved-Tegefjäll
There are one skipass for all the four different systems, however a separate skipass can be bought for those who only wish to ski in Duved-Tegefjäll at a cheaper price.
Björnen - Family friendly and laid back. Featuring long blue slopes and a big children's area.
Central Åre, Highzone, Rödkullen - The biggest area, where also most of the people are which sometimes means there are long queues to the lifts. Best before lunch, when the pistes are in their prime condition and many people have not gotten out of their cabins yet.
Duved-Tegefjäll - Some of the best slopes in the entire system. Long, perfect slopes and not many people. The 6-chair express lift takes you to the top in no-time.
For an easy and fun off-piste experience, take the 6-chair lift to the top, go straight right and down the ravine, a fun and fairly easy off-piste run which features an naturally shaped halfpipe.
THE SKI AREA
There are 40 lifts and 100 slopes in the skiarea.
Night Skiing
If you are watching the broadcasts from the World Cup competitions in Åre you probably think the races is running in daylight when in fact the sun had already set. This is due to the superb floodlight system covering two of the best pistes in Åre, Gästrappet and Lundsrappet (serviced by the skilift "VM8"). The visibility is actually better in the floodlight than in natural daylight. There is also night skiing on other pistes as well, but the most brilliant is found at Gästrappet and Lundsrappet.
Night skiing season 2007-2008:
ÅRE VILLAGE
Skilift "VM8" Week 52-10 monday, wednesday and friday (not 24/12)
DUVED - Skilift "Hamreliften" Week 52-10 tuesdays and saturdays
BJÖRNEN - Skilifts "Björnliften", "Nalleliften" and "Vargliften". Week 52-10 thursdays and sundays
The night skiing is between 18:00 and 20:00.
HOW TO REACH
By air - Are Östersund Airport: There are domestic flights operating daily from Stockholm to Åre Östersund Airport (SAS and Flynordic), direct bus from the airport to Åre costs about 25 euro one way. There are also charter flights from London, Moscow, Helsinki and Copenhagen.
Vaernes Airport: You can also fly to Vaernes Airport outside Trondheim. International flights from London and Amsterdam.
At the airport you take the local train to Hell (takes about 3 minutes). In Hell you take the train "Mittnabotåget" direct to Åre Railwaystation, it is worth checking the time of departure from Hell as the train only runs twice a day (in both directions). Generally there is a morning train at around 0900 and an evening train at around 1700. Avoid arriving at Hell station too far in advance as it is far less comfortable than waiting a few hours in a cafe at Vaernes airport!
If possible, pre-book your train tickets (from station "Vaernes" to station "Åre"). The ticket price is 145 SEK one way although there are discounts for students.
By train - SJ passenger train service has daily trains from Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö. There are also night trains. Veolia Transport have day trains from Sundsvall and from Trondheim (together with NSB). Veolia Transport also have night trains from Stockholm and Gothenburg during the winter.
