Skiing in the heart of Stockholm

ALL-YEAR WINTER FUN ON THE ECO-FRIENDLY NEVEPLAST DRY SKI SLOPE

Author and photos Neveplast S.r.l., IT – 24061 Albano S. Alessandro, www.neveplast.it

Together with SkiStar – the Scandinavian giant in the world of tourism, sport and entertainment – Bergamo-based Neveplast has completed an ambitious project in the Swedish capital. The facility on Hammarbybacken hill and its 500-m ski slope use NP30 FREESKI SUSTAINABLE, the innovative sustainable dry ski slope for skiing all-year round.

On 7 September 2022, the Neveplast ski slope in the heart of Stockholm opened to the public. Served by a ski lift, the slope has a skiable surface of 9,000 m² with a variable gradient so that it is suitable for both less experienced skiers and athletes in training. In the upper part of the track, a „SkiStar Snow Park“ measuring 1,500 m² has been built with a dozen structures including rails, jumps and boxes. Among the stars who have tested the snow park and ski slope is Jesper Tjader, one of the world‘s most famous freeskiers, and Kristoffer Jakobsen, a great athlete of the Swedish Ski World Cup team.

It is a SkiStar project. The Swedish giant specialising in the management of ski facilities, tourism and entertainment is owner of some of the most renowned ski resorts in Sweden and Norway: Are, Salen, Trysil, Hemsedal and Vemdalen. A prestigious destination package had been missing in the capital: Hammarbybacken Stockholm, which has thus become the sixth ski destination in the SkiStar orbit.

“Hammarbybacken Stockholm has become our sixth destination, which means we can make the city a little more active and fun with exciting and inspiring attractions for anyone looking for the joy of exercise and memorable experiences in the city centre. With this investment and thanks to our collaboration with Neveplast, we hope to be able to help more people to be active and at the same time enjoy the best views in Stockholm“, says Stefan Sjöstrand, CEO and Group Manager of SkiStar. SkiStar chose NP30 FREESKI SUSTAINABLE Neveplast was contacted by SkiStar in autumn 2021. The Bergamo-based leading company in the production of ski slopes made of plastics material became the main player in the project. After testing other materials around the world, the SkiStar representatives were especially impressed by the characteristics of NP30 FREESKI, the latest addition to the Neveplast range that enhances the skills of skiers and riders of all levels.

Neveplast FREESKI is very similar to natural snow and, thanks to the revolutionary technology applied and also to the different geometry, it ensures an easy side-edge grip. Neveplast FREESKI is ideal for those looking for pure fun and the thrill of a skiing descent. In three adjectives: skiing is easy, exciting and fun.

SkiStar required the product to be sustainable and to respond to high standards of technology applied to environmental protection. Urged on by the request of the Swedish clients, the Bergamo-based company, which is always very attentive to environmental issues, developed an ad-hoc product for the Stockholm project.

So-called NP30 FREESKI SUSTAINABLE raises the bar even more in terms of sustainability. It delivers even higher performance in terms of skiing and the environmental protection required by SkiStar. In April 2022, the NP30 FREESKI SUSTAINABLE product obtained ISCC PLUS certification (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification).

Neveplast’s renewable plastics, as far as the NP30 SUSTAINABLE product is concerned, is managed using a mass balance system through the value chain. This means that the link between certified incoming and outgoing material for each stage of the process is ensured by certification. For every ton of ISCC certified renewable plastic put into production, an equivalent quantity of finished product can be declared as ISCC certified. SkiStar summer skiing: facts & figures The skiable area of the Neveplast slope built on Hammarbybacken hill is 9,000 m². To be precise, 7,500 m² of this is on the downhill slope, with 1,500 m² dedicated to the snow park located in the upper part about 60 m below the start of the slope. The layout of the snow park includes a dozen structures suitable for all levels: spectacular rails, boxes and kicks make the set-up of the park truly captivating.

The length of the downhill slope is 470 m, which is served by a ski lift about 270 m long. It starts at an altitude of 10 m above sea level and reaches 91 m. For beginners and for young skiers taking their first steps on skis or snowboards, there is the school field, about 35 m long next to the ski lift, served by a treadmill. The ski lift is also entirely covered with Neveplast. The track layout has been designed to satisfy a transversal base of skiers, from beginners to athletes who use the track to train between the poles.

Designed for entertainment, the Neveplast tubing centre is composed of SkiStar Mountain Tube with two 50 m long straight tracks and a track with a parabolic curve to make the tubing adventure even more exciting and lively. One of the two straight tracks has a customised SkiStar tunnel which makes the experience of descending aboard the ski rings even more appealing and inclusive. The tubing track is served by a treadmill supplied by SUNKID, Neveplast partner in many projects around the world.