Kläppen Ski Resort, Sweden, Will Open Fall Hike Park Thanks to Farmed Snow

“Together, Höstparken and Kläppen Arena create a training environment that’s hard to find elsewhere,” Kläppen writes. “Here, you can practice tricks, try something new and develop your riding throughout the autumn. Riders come here from across Northern Europe, from national teams and clubs to those looking to progress on their own.”

To ease freestyle progression, the resort is building Höstparken right next to Kläppen Arena — the resort’s airbag jump training zone. 

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Farming snow for its preseason hike park is something Kläppen has done for years now, and other resorts across the world are starting to tap in. Snow farming systems take snow from the previous year and move it all into one massive pile. Resorts then cover that pile with insulating materials — usually hay, wood chips, or sawdust — and lay a big tarp over the top to insulate the snow from the summer heat. When temperatures start to cool down, resorts spread the snow across their runs for early-season operations to start building a base before the snow falls naturally. Or, in the case of Kläppen, the snow is used for a preseason terrain park.

As winters become increasingly unpredictable due to climate change, more and more resorts are using snow farming as a means to operate. Some resorts, like Ruka and Levi in Finland, have used the technique to become some of the earliest non-glacial resorts in the Northern Hemisphere to begin their seasons. The technique allows them to take old snow and preserve it for the next season, limiting the effect of Mother Nature if it does not deliver critical early-season snow or snowmaking temperatures.

• Related: Winters Are Getting Less Predictable — Could Snow Farming Be the Answer?

With its Höstparken and Kläppen Arena, Kläppen has become a freestyle haven for skiers and snowboarders in Sweden who want to dial in tricks in the offseason. With an artificial snow surface, Kläppen Arena allows freestyle riders to train on airbags throughout the summer months, helping them to dial in their spins and jump tricks. In the fall, when the resort’s skiers and snowboarders are ready for snow parks, Kläppen uncovers its farmed snow and builds a park full of rails and jumps, letting the riders take what they learned on the airbags to a real terrain park.

The easy transition from summer to fall park riding makes progression feel seamless. Riders do not have to spend months off of their skis and boards and instead can train at Kläppen throughout the year. This helps them keep their muscle memory and makes learning new tricks much less difficult.

With the opening of Höstparken less than a week away, Kläppen’s freestyle skiers and snowboarders are soon to make their return to the snow. A month of hike park riding gives them a place to break out their new tricks on snow and lets them get the feeling back of riding on a natural surface. Soon after the park finishes up in November, the rest of Kläppen’s slopes will open up, and the 2026-27 season at the Swedish resort will begin.