Winter is fast approaching. Today, Vålådalen in Sweden opened for the season’s first cross-country skiing: “We have never had so much saved snow, says Vålådalen’s Latti Östlund.

The second weekend in October has been the opening date for the Vålådalens Fjällstation cross-country skiing tracks in recent years, which is also the case this year. The final preparations were underway with the saved snow to open the facility today:

“We rely on snow that has been saved since last spring. We have never had so much snow saved, so there will be about four kilometers of tracks that we open now, both for classic and skating,” says Latti Östlund.

How many cross-country skiers do you expect to come during the first weekend?

“We have a group of a hundred people, but then we count on many day guests. Then you usually see a family from Östersund going for a lap, and then you see them pick up the phone. Two and a half hours later, ten more cars arrive,” laughs Östlund.

The skiing tracks that are now opened up are on saved snow, but the snow cannons will be started when the cold comes:

“Electricity prices here in the north are not that dangerous. It will be perhaps ten percent more expensive to make snow. The diesel prices are more alarming,” says Östlund.

On October 24, the Swedish cross-country team will come to Vålådalen for a training camp.