The proximity to skiing and an old country store was appealing
Skiing is their great passion and main livelihood for many years. They have both worked as ski instructors around the Swedish mountain region and in the United States, including the ski resort Vail.
During the summer they previously had their base in Årjäng, where Bengt-Åke originally comes from. There they ran a campsite during the summer months, but when it became clear that the facility required more supervision than they had time for at home, they began looking for alternatives.
A fresh start in the Värmland Alps
Suddenly, an interesting and unusual property appeared. A perfectly sized former country store with an apartment on the second floor, ideally located with a view of the Branäs ski slopes to the west. It was love at first sight, a deal was made, and Bengt-Åke and Renée moved to the Värmland Alps.
Even though the distance between Årjäng and Branäs is only about 200 kilometers, the conditions for winter sports on snow are quite different. Instead of seasonal jobs away from home, it became ski work at home and year-round living in the country store, which has also stimulated creative entrepreneurial thinking on the side.
– We had previously worked with food and artisanal food products at the campsite, so the step to open a café in the premises felt quite natural. Sunny’s Place became the name of the business, which from the very beginning held bigger plans than just coffee and cakes.
In Vail we saw that many people moved out to the ski resorts and worked remotely from there. More people should do that here too.
Where adventure meets creativity
– We started by purchasing kayaks for rental and organized group paddling on the Klarälven River and on lakes in the forest.
Today, Sunny’s Place is, in addition to a café, also an arena for creative expression and a hub for various outdoor activities and multisport challenges. All of this is framed by many clever and self-designed interior details with an alpine theme — vintage skis converted into coat racks, helmets and poles turned into lamps instead, ski posters with local motifs, and much more.
New ideas in step with summer tourism
The couple runs their café alongside other jobs. Bengt-Åke works as a ski instructor at Långberget, and Renée trains new ski instructors through SLAO and also works as a personal assistant, among other things.
– Of course we dream of being able to stay open more, and perhaps there will be an opportunity for that now that Branäs is also investing in summer tourism. People who come here in the winter mostly stay at the ski resorts, while summer tourists move around the area a bit more to explore the local offerings of culture and sights.
Bengt-Åke and Renée also enjoy exploring the local area — preferably on surfaces such as snow, ice, water, gravel roads, newly laid asphalt, or forest trails. On roller skis, by bicycle, on long-distance skates, alpine skis, cross-country skis, with running shoes, hiking boots, or with a paddle to propel them forward.
There is an enormous amount of potential in outdoor life here. We are inspired by multisport events with running, cycling, paddling, climbing, and more. It would be a dream to organize something similar here.
An initiative that was originally intended to be a fun activity for a group of friends is the Råaloppet, which for five years has attracted runners to northern Värmland. The course stretches over 30+ km along forest trails and gravel roads through varied, demanding terrain, scenic surroundings, sharp descents, and steep climbs. At most, there have been 150 registered participants.
Inspired by the world
– This summer we will be helping to organize a hill race in roller skiing together with the ski club Bore from Torsby. The start will be in Sysslebäck and the finish is at the top of Långberget. Just like Råaloppet, it is a tough challenge with many elevation meters to climb. Since it is the first year the race is being held, we do not know what to expect in terms of the number of participants, but we hope many will find their way here.
One source of inspiration when it comes to multisport events is the outdoor festival GoPro Mountain Games in Vail, USA. It is a multi-day event with competitions in running, paddling, climbing, swimming, and more, bringing together tens of thousands of visitors and athletes, as well as artists and musicians.
– It would be a dream to organize something similar here, says Bengt-Åke.
Many ideas are born and turned into reality by the couple Danielsson/Magnusson in Långav. What future projects will consist of remains to be seen, but they will most likely include a nature experience, physical effort, and something good to eat afterwards.
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