Trip Guide: Improvers Ski Holiday in Sweden

You can snowplough, you can link turns, and now you want to stop scraping down blues and start skiing them properly. This improvers ski holiday in Sweden’s Jämtland mountains gives you five days of small-group coaching on quiet pistes, a full day on some bigger slopes at a different resort, a day of cross-country skiing through the forest and an evening of night skiing under the floodlights.

It’s not a lazy week, you’ll be on your feet six to seven hours a day, six days in a row. The reward is that the turn you were overthinking at 10am starts to feel automatic by 3pm, and by the end of the week you’re skiing reds you’d have side-slipped on Day 2.

This trip is for skiers who’ve got the basics and want coaching to ski with more control. Read on for more information.

Getting There

Fly into Trondheim Airport (Værnes) in Norway, before our group transfer drives you two hours across the border into Sweden’s Jämtland mountains. That’s it. The transfer is included, runs once each way at a fixed time, and drops you at the door of the hotel.

We use Trondheim because the flight connections from the UK are far better than any Swedish airport near the resort. We haven’t confused our Scandinavian countries, it’s just the easiest way in.

Fitness & Skill Level

For this trip you need to have the basics of skiing down, and a solid base of fitness – that’s why we rate this trip Moderate for fitness and Improver for skill. At improver level you’ll ski more and ski harder than you did in your first week on snow.

The conditions

You’ll be on your feet six to seven hours a day, six days in a row. Here’s what the week involves:

• Small-group coaching in the mornings with a qualified instructor, then guided practice sessions in the afternoons
• Moving from blue runs onto reds as your confidence builds
• A full day at Åre, one of Scandinavia’s largest ski areas, around 20km down the valley, with bigger, busier terrain
• One day of cross-country skiing, starting with a lesson and finishing on the forest trails
• An evening of night skiing under the floodlights

The lifts do the climbing, so it isn’t your uphill legs that get tested. It’s the descending. Holding your line, controlling your speed and making constant small corrections on steeper runs works your thighs for hours at a time, and most people feel it.

Cold is the other factor as it quietly burns through your energy. The recovery side is good though. The hotel resort sits at the bottom of the ski lifts so you can ski back to the door where there’s a sauna waiting at the end of the day.

Fitness

If you already do cardio a few times a week with some strength on top, and back-to-back active days don’t faze you, you’ll handle this well.

If you’re active but not consistently, give yourself six to eight weeks to build up to this trip. Cardio two to three times a week for around 45 minutes each time is the backbone of it, so running, cycling, spin classes or the gym, whatever you’ll stick to. The weekend dog walk won’t cut it. On top of that, add squats, lunges, step-ups and single-leg exercises twice a week, plus some core work. That’s what stops your legs giving out by mid-afternoon half way down a run.

When it comes to cross-country skiing expect a full-body workout that uses muscles downhill never touches. Whatever your starting point, don’t try to cram your preparation into the fortnight before you fly.

Skill

This trip is for skiers who’ve got the basics down. You need to be able to snowplough, link turns and get down a green or gentle blue run. You don’t need to be polished, that’s what the coaching is for, but this isn’t for anyone new to skiing. If you’ve never skied before, start with our Beginner Ski Holiday in Sweden.

Over the week you’ll work on parallel turns, carving, edge control and reading the slope ahead, the skills that take you from scraping down a blue to skiing it well.

Sleep & Eat

You spend all seven nights in a traditional alpine lodge in the Jämtland Mountains, so you unpack once and stay put. The hotel started life as a writer’s retreat in the 1930s and still has that feel: simple, comfortable ensuite rooms, crackling fires, a lounge, a bar, wifi and a sauna for tired legs.

The hotel sits right at the bottom of the lifts so you walk out in the morning and can get straight on. It also means you can ski all the way back to the hotel door at the end of the day too.

All meals are included, from dinner on arrival day to lunch before your journey home. Breakfast is a hearty buffet, so you can fuel up properly before a full day on the slopes, whilst lunch is a hot meal at a slopeside café. Dinner is usually two courses made with local ingredients and served at the hotel restaurant, although after night skiing one evening you’ll have pizza at a venue on the mountains.

The kitchen can cater for gluten-free, lactose-free, nut-free, vegetarian and vegan diets. Tell us when you book. If you have a severe food allergy, get in touch before you book so we can check what’s possible.

Weather

From December to March, daytime temperatures in Jämtland usually sit between -10°C and -3°C, dropping lower at night. January is the coldest month, and March warms slightly to around -6°C to 1°C. By April you’re into spring skiing, with daytime temperatures around freezing to +5°C and snow that softens in the afternoon sun.

The cold here is dry, so it feels less harsh than a damp UK winter at the same temperature. Wind changes quickly though, and the higher slopes are chillier than the village.

Daylight also changes as much as the temperature. In December you’re skiing in a few hours of low winter light. By April though the days stretch to around fifteen hours and the evenings are brighter. Snow reflects UV straight back at you all season, so goggles and high-factor sunscreen are essential, especially in March and April.

Your instructors and guides always put safety first, so plans may change depending on the weather and snow conditions.

Good to Know

Money: Sweden uses the Swedish krona (SEK) but cards are widely accepted, so it’s unlikely you’ll need cash. Almost everything is included on this trip, so you’ll only need to budget for drinks, snacks, souvenirs and tips.

Communication: There’s wifi at the hotel. Phone coverage works fine in the village, but expect it to drop out in patches up on the mountain.

Insurance: Travel insurance with medical cover, mountain rescue and missed connections is mandatory. Also make sure it covers skiing too.

Packing List

What We Provide

• Skis, boots and poles
• Helmet
• Cross-country skis, boots and poles for your Nordic day

What You Need to Bring

On the slopes

• Waterproof and windproof ski jacket
• Waterproof and breathable ski trousers or salopettes
• Thermal base layer tops, two or three
• Long johns or thermal base layer bottoms
• Fleece or wool mid-layer jumpers, two
• Ski socks, three or four pairs
• Ski gloves, two pairs
• Glove liners or disposable hand warmers
• Buff or balaclava, two if you feel the cold
• Beanie
• Ski goggles
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen and lip salve, high SPF

Off the slopes

• Snow boots or waterproof walking boots
• Slippers or indoor shoes with a hard sole
• Casual warm evening clothes

Packing Tips

Ski jacket and trousers: Waterproof and windproof on both counts, and this is not the place to cut corners, because you will be sitting in the snow more than you expect in the first couple of days. Insulated salopettes suit the colder months. Shell trousers give you more room to layer underneath if the temperature swings. Look for a snow skirt, an adjustable hood and ventilation zips on the jacket if you have the choice.

Hiring rather than buying: If you are not sure you will use ski kit again, hire it. Two companies we rate:

• Outdoorbuddies Sweden, who deliver directly to the hotel
• Adventure Kit Hire, a UK company giving Gutsy Girls guests 10% off rental clothing. Email us for the code.

Fabrics: Merino wool base layers are worth the money for a week on the slopes. They dry fast and they do not smell after a sweaty day. Synthetic works too. Avoid cotton entirely, because it soaks up sweat, stays wet, and leaves you cold the moment you stop moving.

Hands and head: Two pairs of gloves, so you always have a dry pair. Liners or hand warmers if your fingers go first. A buff is the most useful thing in your bag: one for your neck, one to wear under the helmet. A beanie earns its place on the bitter days and in the evenings.

Eyes and sun: Goggles on the slopes, or sunglasses if that is what you have, but either way they need strong UV filtering. Snow throws the sun straight back at you and the glare without it is blinding. Sunscreen and lip salve go on every morning, and more so in March and April when the sun is higher.

Your cross-country day: Full ski kit is too warm for this one, because you generate a lot of heat and there is no chairlift to cool you down. Your base layers with a mid layer over the top usually does it, with the jacket in your pack for the stops. Thinner gloves are worth having if you brought a pair.

Boots for getting about: The hotel sits by the slopes but you will still be walking in snow. Snow boots or waterproof walking boots, and something soft for indoors, since ski boots come off at the door.

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