Kittelfjäll: The powder village

Introduction

Powder ski resorts have their charm. Usually, they are a bit slumbering, and there is not much else to do unless it’s snowing heavily. Often you can ask yourself, ”What do people work with around here?” or ”Do people live here all year?” but the slumbering townfolks wake to life when the powder conditions strike – and in Kittelfjäll, the chance of skiing excellent snow excels!

Powder Skiing out of the Ski System

Going to Kittelfjäll is like traveling to another world. On a Monday in the middle of winter, you can be all on yourself—skiing powder in the pistes, lap after lap. Imagine having your own ski system and no other visitors. The lift tickets are also very affordable.

Towering above the ski system is the high Kittelfjället, meaning Cauldron Mountain, because, on the backside, there is a big bowl. Because of this, the area is very prone to avalanches, and the company has to work a lot with avalanche safety to make the pistes safe. Rest assured that it will be safe as long as you are in bounds.

People come here not because of the pistes, but if you like the feeling of carving down long runs at high speeds, you can get that here too. But instead of one long run, aim for multiple. The vertical meters are about 330 from top to bottom – roughly 1100 feet vertical. 

Ski Touring in the Wild

If you prefer to use your strength while reaching a summit, Kittelfjäll has many attractive peaks. The more popular ones are considered Borkafjället, Daevnientjahke, and Grönfjället. Borkafjället you can reach by skinning from Kittelfjäll, but it is about 2 hours on the flat, so most people opt for getting the approach done by Snowmobile. You need a car to reach ”Daevnie” and Grönfjället, but it is not a long drive. The three peaks are roughly 600 vertical meters of skinning/skiing (approximately 2000 feet), and you can also expect to be alone here. Not many people visit these places – despite being the more popular ones.

Going ski touring out of the ski system is also possible, but it is not allowed to ski the terrain directly above the ski system. Use the lifts to get as high as possible, then skin around and upwards to reach the bowl and backside of Kittelfjäll. That way, you are not far away and can skin up and ski down to get to your accommodation.

Other activities

Kittelfjäll is not your typical touristic destination, so most people opt for dinner at the local restaurant in the evening. Sometimes there is a party for the locals going on, but other than that, do not expect too much. No spa hotels with a fancy lounge as far as you can see – however, there is usually some form of sauna.

The things you do in Kittelfjäll are 1. Skiing, and 2. Snowmobiling. So, if you want to go dogsledding and do all sorts of activities – perhaps it is better to look for another location. However, if you want to do Ski Touring in one of the last Wildernesses of Europe, Kittelfjäll sets you up for success! 

How to get to Kittelfjäll Ski Resort in Sweden

This is the tricky part. To get here takes some time – despite being well worth it. No trains go here. Hardly any car rental companies close by. Yeah, perhaps a bus once in a while to the local city two hours away. As much as we love to recommend taking the train, it simply is not a good option.

To get to Kittelfjäll, you have to drive. One way is to fly or take the train to Östersund, and from there on, you go by a rental car. This is probably the most accessible and most affordable option. 

 You can fly to Stockholm Arlanda and then a connecting flight to Östersund (daily flights), but if you go for the train option, you step on in the evening and then off in the early morning. 

 The drive from Östersund to Kittelfjäll takes about 5 hours, and we recommend going through the towns of Dorotea and Vilhelmina and from Vilhelmina following the road signs, despite google maps saying otherwise.

Accommodation

There are not many accommodation options in the small resort of Kittelfjäll. However, we recommend the inn called Kittelfjälls Värdshus, run by a lovely couple who also runs a restaurant with a great selection of wines to go along with the world-class food. Truly a fantastic place to spend your evening. Not far from the inn is the hotel with quite some rooms and a restaurant. However, we have found that the hotel has a lesser standard than the inn and a less personal atmosphere. The inn also has better facilities for cooking your food and a better-equipped changing room so you can get your boots dried overnight.

As of writing this, the inn Kittelfjäll Värdshus has over 250 reviews with an average of 4.6/5 stars. The hotel has roughly the same amount of reviews with an average of 4.2/5 – which is not bad.

So, if you do not need the luxury villas and mansions of the Alps but instead want to experience a genuine powder town in the islands of Sweden – try Kittelfjäll.