Industry News
The first day of the ski season in Sweden’s Skistar Åre Resort turned tragic on Thursday, December 4, when a 20-year-old man died after a serious accident, just minutes after the resort opened for winter operations.
Skistar Åre opened sections of the mountain at 8:00 a.m. but just 21 minutes later, at 8:21 a.m., an emergency call was made reporting a critical incident on Gästrappet. Ski patrol staff were sent to a motionless man found 150 meters below a snow cannon on the Gästrappet run. Ski patrol attended the scene immediately, followed shortly by rescue services, ambulance crews, and police. The man was transported by ambulance to Östersund Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Despite extensive medical treatment, his life could not be saved and he was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m., Jämtland police confirmed
Maria Kruse, Head of Communications at Skistar, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that staff responded right away but declined to comment on the specifics of the accident. “We regret what has happened and are thinking of the relatives while taking care of our staff,” she said. “The resort is open as usual,” she added.
According to local newspapers. the 20-year-old was from the Stockholm region but was studying at Campus Åre, a pre-university education center. Fellow student spent the morning waiting anxiously for updates. “It has been a terrible wait,” Ida Leidermark, the municipality’s emergency officer, told Swedish newspaper Östersunds-Posten. “It’s a very difficult day for them.” A crisis support group for the students was set up immediately as news of the accident broke.
Police say the death is being treated as an accident, and there is no suspicion of foul play. The man’s family has been notified.
Åre is Sweden’s largest ski resort with 42 ski lifts and 89 slopes, offering a 890-meter of vertical. The ski resort is located approximately 7.5 hours north of Stockholm and is famous for hosting the Slalom World Cup. At the time of the accident, only two of the resort’s lifts were operating while only four slopes were open, Gästrappet, Lower Lundstappet, Åreleden, and Red Hill.
