Powder Skiing in Åre
Åre in Jämtland, Sweden, combines open mountain terrain with dense forest below the tree line. After the right storm, sheltered sections can hold deep powder and short natural pillow features.
The photographs and videos show Alexander Rydén skiing tight forest lines and small drops around Åre. Growing up in nearby Edsåsdalen made this terrain a long-term part of his skiing and shaped the quick line choices required in confined forest.
SKIING ÅRE’S TIGHT FORESTS
The spacing between the trees leaves little time to reconsider a line. Rydén reads the openings early, links short controlled turns and adjusts his speed before each drop or compression.
Years in this terrain shaped the quick line choices he later carried into narrow couloirs and other confined alpine terrain.
GROWING UP IN EDSÅSDALEN
Rydén grew up in Edsåsdalen, a small mountain village near Åre, where skiing was part of everyday life from childhood.
He and his friends began photographing and filming one another on the mountain, then studying the footage and comparing their movement with the skiers they watched in ski films. That early combination of skiing and image-making eventually developed into his professional work behind the camera.
