The alpine facility Storklinten invests in climate-smart solutions. Energy-efficiently created snow in the spring is saved for early pre-season training in the autumn. Sustainability permeates everything from new snow cannons and LED lighting to electric scooters and perhaps the world’s first electric scooter trail.
View of Storklinten. Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
Storklinten in Svartlå, only 30 minutes from Boden, has made itself known in alpine circles for its ability to create really good conditions for alpine training. As part of their climate goals, the Swedish national team has chosen Storklinten as the home ground for training in the pre-season. They get to Boden easily and the training here does not require trips abroad. There are also ski high schools from all over the country and training groups from another ten different nations.
Snow system and lighting
Snow protection is a basic necessity. In a collaboration with Ski Team Sweden and Vattenfall, investments have been made in an energy-efficient snow system that allows them to create snow faster, more efficiently and make the best use of the cold temperatures. Through this, they have also been able to save snow over the summer for early training for the national team and other training groups already in October.
With the support of Vattenfall, the region and its own funds, the facility has received better and more environmentally friendly lighting so that the riders can train during the dark hours of the day as well as charging posts for the electric cars and electric snowmobiles that assist the riders during the training sessions.
Snow cannons in Storklinten. Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
Storklinten A and B hill. Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
Wholeness and service
But what makes more and more people come here is not just the snow, but the whole, sensitivity to the national teams’ demands for courses, service, meals, the proximity between residents and slopes and rich leisure outside the door. Before important competitions, it is also extra appreciated with the opportunity for privacy and isolated teams, which is easier at a smaller facility from a world perspective.
Electric scooter trail
One of the area’s existing and well-visited snowmobile trails is planned to be perhaps the world’s first of its kind, equipped with a charging station for electric snowmobiles. At a rest area between Storklinten and Harads, where the two Arctic Bath and Treehotel facilities are located, both local snowmobile riders and the hospitality industry will be able to charge the snowmobile of the future. This also opens up for more environmentally friendly activities for several of the surrounding activity companies, as well as snowmobile transfers between the facilities.
Charging pole for electric snowmobiles. Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
Snowmobile trail which in the near future will be an electric snowmobile trail. Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
Charging of electric snowmobiles. Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
Malin Nilsson, Storklinten. Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
Charging site for electric snowmobiles. Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
More investments
The most expensive investment in Storklinten, of about 50 million, is a municipal water and sewerage system with its own treatment plant. Ahead of the planned national championship week in Boden in 2020, now moved to 2024, Storklinten received fiber for the entire facility through a rapid effort by Boden Energi with subcontractors. Storklinten also receives municipal waste management and its own environmental station is under construction.
Like several other companies in the area, Storklinten has been trained in the eco-label Nature´s Best, in the municipally owned hospitality industry project in the Edefors area, “The world’s most sustainable high-end destination”. Storklinten also encourages landowners to build climate-smart in the growing cottage village and makes it visible in the marketing when renting cottages. They are also planning a new hotel and restaurant building.
– All this means a huge potential for us and the entire area’s sustainability work. It feels as if it has begun to shift from sustainability and environmental work being an expensive must, to it becoming the economically sustainable alternative. Since the company was founded, it has been important to collaborate and utilize the local forces and products that exist, but if we continue, we will be able to boast of a product that is sustainable from all aspects, which is absolutely essential to secure our future, says Malin Nilsson , Storklinten.
municipal water and sewerage system with its own treatment plant. Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
Electric car charging post BEAB. Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
Ready to build plot in Storklinten. Photo: Mats Engfors / Fotographic
