February compared to -12 in Lapland.
Skiing with children By Paul Wojinicki
F
amily ski holidays are truly magical, but the season can feel a little short for families restricted to school holidaysespecially if they want to spend Christmas at home. Northern Sweden however is snow-sure well into mid-April, which makes the Easter holidays a great opportunity for an unforgettable family holiday. It’s also the perfect place to learn to ski, with wide uncrowded slopes and an abundance of alternative snowy activities. Here are my top five reasons to choose Vemdalen in Sweden following our New Year’s vacation there.
It’s the perfect place for little ones to learn to ski Let’s face it our little ones amaze us every day, but it’s still difficult to believe your own eyes when you see your tiny tot skiing down a slope by themselves for the first time. Vemdalen however is full of pre-schoolers zipping down the slopes because it’s the perfect place for them to learn. Even the longest slope on the mountain is a gentle green run, all the way from the top down to the apartments below. Harrison- aged 5 ¾ was skiing this run on his first lesson- under the close supervision of his instructor Anna of course. But for those-like me- with no head for heights there are plenty of very small gentle runs at the foot of the mountain with travellator style lifts that are easily used by the youngest of children. Three year old Ella was skiing down this by herself after two days and was using the drag lifts that went further up the mountain by the end of the week. The lifts in Vemdalen are so close to the accommodation- literally two minutes away- that you’ll be able to ski for an hour or two at a time, then spend time warming up in the apartment, before skiing for another hour or two again. This means you are never too cold or uncomfortable.
Wide, uncrowded slopes, with short queues for the lifts Another reason Vemdalen is such a great place to learn to ski is that the slopes are relatively crowd free, especially on the gentle green runs. Harrison and I skied from the top of the mountain to the bottom at a very leisurely speed- he is only five after all- and we had no-one take over us the whole way down. Only when the run merged with the advanced slopes at the bottom did the pistes start to fill up, but even here they were uncrowded and we were back on the lifts again a couple of minutes after getting to the bottom.
It’s like Lapland, only closer and slightly warmer When you’re in Vemdalen you’re still in a picture perfect winter wonderland that is, for all intents and purposes, just like Lapland. But while Lapland is around four hours away by plane Vemdalen is around 2hrs 30. And crucially it’s several degrees warmer (or should I say less cold), with an average temperature of -8 in 14 Families Vale of York
Another advantage over Lapland is that the season lasts longer. Lapland ski trips tend to run from December to February, while Crystal Ski run trips to Vemdalen from December until mid-April, which means you can ski in the Easter holidays which are much quieter than half term in February. And being so far north the snow is guaranteed in Vemdalen for the whole of the season.
There are plenty of other activities besides skiing We pretty much skied every spare hour of our seven day trip but we chose Vemdalen for our trip because it had no shortage of other options had the children not enjoyed skiing. On our first day Ella and I spent several hours sledging on a dedicated hill right next to the learner slopes. From here I could watch Harrison skiing while keeping Ella entertained as well. We also rode on a vesseltur (a tractor come tank designed for climbing up mountainous slopes) to a remote waffle cottage at the top of the mountain opposite our resort. The experience was magical and only cost around £10 for adults and £6 for children. Then there was a dog sledding trip through Narnia like scenery just a mile away from the hotel (book locally with Klövsjö Äventyr & Konferens) and snow mobiles designed for younger childrenwith nearby Vemdalen Experience. The latter cost us just £10 for ten minutes and was worth every penny as far as Harrison was concerned.
It isn’t as expensive as you’d expect There’s no getting around the fact that eating and drinking out in Nordic countries can be expensive, but most of the accommodation in Vemdalen is self-catering and there’s a decent sized supermarket within a five minute walk of the apartments. We ate out twice during our week and had drinks in the café most days. The rest of the time we cooked in our ultra-modern and spacious apartment (we stayed in Sörgårdarna Apartments, complete with their own sauna and drying room) and we only spent £300 on food and drink for a family of four in the whole week. Lift passes for under 7’s were free and Crystal Ski were offering two for one ski passes for adults. Even Harrison’s private lessons with Anna started at a relatively inexpensive £60, which is a lot cheaper than private lessons at our local indoor slope.
Getting to Vemdalen We booked with Crystal Ski- who are part of the TUI Group and who just won Best Ski & Winter Sports Holiday Company at the British Travel Awards for the ninth time. One of the reasons that Crystal Ski consistently win this and other awards is their attitude toward families. Crystal’s excellent family friendly brochures and website recognises that families need very detailed information and support before booking a ski holiday. Don’t just take my word for it though download their brochure or go to crystalski.co.uk/ family-ski-holidays and you’ll see they provide all the information you need to decide on the perfect destination for you. familiesonline.co.uk