Ski-thru McDonald's a first for super-fast food

In Salen, Sweden, JEFF REINES discovers the world's most surreal setting for ordering a Big Mac and fries

- Edited by JULIE DELAHAYE

A Swedish ski resort has come up with an unexpected way to fuel you up while you're sliding down the slopes - the world's only ski-thru McDonald's. Yes, really.

Everyone who has been lucky enough to give it a go knows skiing is hungry work. And in minus double-digit Scandinavian temperatures, the shivering alone burns enough calories to have you scouring the wintry landscape for lunch, a warm snack or a hot drink.

There are all manner of options and temptations in cosy or cavernous cafeterias and restaurants. But on a Crystal Ski trip to Lindvallen - one of the four major ski resorts in Salen, about 200 miles northwest of Stockholm - I went for some surreal fast food instead.

It might not seem a natural combination, and certainly looks odd - I'm sure it's received many a double-take from skiers. But on the central slope, look past the Experium Express chair lift, to the right of the vast Experiumtorget base building, and you'll spot those golden arches.

It's curious enough to see them rising incongruously out of the snow. But they are also attached to a dark wooden single-story outlet, with full wraparound windows and a foot of the white stuff covering the whole roof, with rows of ski racks out front.