Summer skiing has opened at Stockholm Hammarbybacken, Sweden’s first modern alpine skiing arena with artificial grass. The SummerSki venture is an important milestone in the company’s move towards year-round activities, which can now also be enjoyed in the middle of the capital. First to try out the slope at the launch was none other than World Cup skier Kristoffer Jakobsen.
The arena opened at 2 pm to allow curious skiing enthusiasts to take the lift up to the top and ski down the slope, which features almost 9,000 m2 of artificial grass, specially designed to imitate the feeling of skiing on freshly prepared snow. There’s also a summer version of the SkiStar Snow Park with a number of features like rails and boxes designed by SkiStar’s new ambassador, freeskier and Olympic medallist Jesper Tjäder. A beginner’s area can be reached easily by conveyor.
– Our unique SummerSki venture in Sweden is finally up and running. It’s fantastic to be able to offer all Stockholmers and visitors the opportunity to go skiing, even outside the winter months, and to discover the joy of skiing all year round. This venture moves us closer to our sustainability goal of encouraging even more people to take up exercise and become more active to improve their health and well-being; the new Stockholm Hammarbybacken centre is an important part of this, says Stefan Sjöstrand, CEO and Group Manager of SkiStar AB.
World Cup skier Kristoffer Jakobsen took time out from his pre-season preparations to be the first official skier on the slope just before it opened to the public today.
– I think it’s a great idea and will help skiing continue to grow. It’s also great to be able to do it in the capital. It was really exciting and cool to be the first out on the slope on a day like this, says Kristoffer Jakobsen.
Besides SummerSki, the arena has a new SkiStar Climbing Park, Mountain Coaster and Mountain Tube, which opened earlier in the summer and have attracted a lot of visitors.
Opening hours:
SummerSki at SkiStar Hammarbybacken in Stockholm is open from 2 pm to 8 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 2 pm to 6 pm on Fridays and 10 am to 6 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. You’ll need to buy a SkiPass from skistar.com or the SkiStar app before you can ski. Other activities will also stay open from Thursdays to Sundays during the autumn and the autumn break.
For more details of opening hours, information about Stockholm Hammarbybacken and tickets click HERE
