Copenhagen's Copenhill Opens

It was four years ago that the world first heard of a revolutionary power plant, which burns waste instead of fossil fuel, and has a roof that doubles as a ski slope. Copenhagen’s Amager Resource Centre / Copenhill was hailed as a landmark example of sustainable public architecture. Last weekend, the facility opened its doors to the public with three days of celebrations.

The roof of the $670 million waste-to-energy plant, which began operations in 2017, is leased to an independent operator who runs the recreational facilities.

The ski slope in the roof top park is 450 metres long and varies from 45% at the steepest part to 14% at the lower part of the slope. The top part of the slope is categorised as black, the middle is red/blue, and the lower part is green. There is a total of four ski lifts transporting people to the top. Included on the ski slope is a freestyle park, a timed slalom course and a kids’ area. On the side of the slope, there is a hiking/running trail that is total 490 metres long and ends at the top of the building in the height of 85m. This is also where the climbing wall ends, which is 85m high and the tallest artificial climbing wall in North Europe. 

On the top of the “mountain”, a restaurant serves healthy Danish dishes, and in the bottom of the slope a ski centre, comprising a café/after ski-bar, ski rental and ski store can be found. 

Following the official inauguration of CopenHill, with a guest list comprising names like Bjarke Ingels and Frank Jensen (City Mayor), thousands of people had found their way to the Copenhagen ski slope on the weekend. A full program for the weekend attracted many Danes and tourists to the ski slopes and festival site, to watch shows ranging from freestyle to uphill cycling and sustainability talks, and simply to be active together. Many skiers were curious to try out the slopes, and the number of subsequent upgraded one-time cards for year passes shows, that the enthusiasm for the new opportunity to ski in the middle of Copenhagen is enormeous. From now on it is possible for the Danes to go skiing daily, and there is great joy among walkers, runners and not least skiers over the new opportunities in Copenhagen.

In the park at CopenHill you will find:

• Ski slopes
• Slalom course
• Freestyle park
• Children’s slope
• Hiking route
• Garmin race track
• Café, bar and roof terrace
• Climbing wall
• Vantage point

Did you know that:

• The ski slope is approx. 400 meters long, with a fall height of 75 meters. The ski slope consists of four slopes laid out in varying degrees of difficulty. Two green (12-15% steep), one green / blue (15-23% steep) and one black / red (23-45% steep).
• There are 3 magic carpets and a button lift that transport skiers to the top
• There will be an opportunity to run or climb the stairs for 670 meters, and the running and hiking trails on the hill are inspired by Norwegian/Swedish mountains
• The roof terrace and the bar are at a height of 78 meters
• The lookout point is 85 meters up and with the city's best view
• CopenHill has the world's highest climbing wall of 80 meters, divided into four pitches, with climbing routes from 5a (easy) to 8a (really difficult), which will open in the spring.