Emergencies in Åre

Good to Know

• 112 is the only number to memorize for any real emergency in Åre — it reaches police, fire, ambulance, and mountain rescue, and the operator will route you correctly.
• On the slopes, ski patrol has no direct phone line — flag down the nearest lift attendant, who will contact patrol; only call 112 yourself if it's outside opening hours or the injury is serious and no attendant is nearby.
• 112 only connects to Swedish emergency services while you're physically in Sweden — if you're calling about an incident in another country, 112 there connects to that country's own service instead.
• For non-urgent issues, save your 112 call for real emergencies: use 1177 for medical advice, 114 14 for non-urgent police matters, and 113 13 for general crisis information.
• Downloading the 112 app before you need it is worth doing in a rural mountain area like Åre, since it can transmit your GPS coordinates directly to the SOS operator.
• Åre itself does not have a full hospital — only a local health center that has been in the process of being upgraded into a 'närsjukhus' with a proper emergency department. Anyone with a serious injury (common with skiing/mountain biking) should expect a transfer to Östersund, roughly 1.5 hours away by road, and in critical cases onward to Umeå.
• Always call 112 for a life-threatening emergency in Sweden — this connects you to ambulance, fire, and police dispatch.
• For non-life-threatening medical advice or to find out where to go, the national 1177 phone line and website connect you with a nurse who can direct you to the right level of care.