Long after the tourist season has ended, the champagne has stopped flowing and the after-ski band has quieted. Long after all the frozen hydrogen and oxygen atoms have returned to their liquid form and disappeared into eternal circulation. Directly above the clouds, you can still find the final remains to the realm of King Bore, the Ruler of Winter.
High up on a deserted ski hill somewhere in the Swedish mountains is everything that we as backcountry riders are not spoiled of – perfect approaches to smooth kickers and 35-degree landings on groomed snow. Before the annual skiing season finale, the ski resort invested some time and coin to build an impressive park with various levels of difficulty for all skiers. The parks crown jewel was a gigantic jump, a monster with a 30 meter (100 foot) gap that took groomers two weeks to construct. Unfortunately, rain and hail washed out the season finale for the skiers, as well as the year’s biggest “New School” event.
Completely untouched and intact, the park was left adrift and the ski hill closed... officially anyway. Our guys took over the park on sleds with the help of a local guide who showed the way up on a sparse snow covered route. The contrast between the high mountain winter landscape and the blue mountain lakes in the valley gave the ride a magical glow. It was a late night before we tired, and as the sun was setting between the mountain peaks around us, it looked down the slopes beyond our sleds to the summer evening in the valley below.
PHOTO HANS WÄRDELL
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