surprisingley good day at Glencoe, the forecast was windy and cloud, the wind only really affected the access chair, and up until about 2pm on the very top was in cloud. Really nice snow, don't recall any major ice, the odd rock and the entrance to Spring Run had a small patch I took my brand new skis off for!!
Also skied top to bottom at Glencoe for the first time in 20 odd years of skiing Scotland!!
Top Tip for Glencoe. If you have winter tyres say so and you can park in the 4x4 parking bit next to the office. I laughed at the sliding BMW X5 skidding and the Porsche Cayenne having to be pushed up the wee slope I just drove up in my Honda Accord
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
glasgowcyclops wrote:
Top Tip for Glencoe. If you have winter tyres say so and you can park in the 4x4 parking bit next to the office. I laughed at the sliding BMW X5 skidding and the Porsche Cayenne having to be pushed up the wee slope I just drove up in my Honda Accord
we're not driving to the local snowdome. these are proper mountains and this is proper winter.
i have the ugliest steel wheels and big profile winter tyres on my car compared to the (frankly ridiculously oversized, why do they do that these days?) alloys my car came with. yet, i can go places 'you' can't, captain "look at the bling 22" low profile bad boys i've got on my supposed 4x4". tw@ts. sorry.
Top Tip for Glencoe. If you have winter tyres say so and you can park in the 4x4 parking bit next to the office. I laughed at the sliding BMW X5 skidding and the Porsche Cayenne having to be pushed up the wee slope I just drove up in my Honda Accord
we're not driving to the local snowdome. these are proper mountains and this is proper winter.
i have the ugliest steel wheels and big profile winter tyres on my car compared to the (frankly ridiculously oversized, why do they do that these days?) alloys my car came with. yet, i can go places 'you' can't, captain "look at the bling 22" low profile bad boys i've got on my supposed 4x4". tw@ts. sorry.
Dont say sorry, your quite right. Weirdly I have a commercial freelander with M+S (not winer tyres) as a company car and my Honda accord will out perform it on snow.
I drive in Norway a lot. How come Norway is fine in snowy freezing conditions. Ans.... Winter tyres.
PS if anyone wants 3x continental 185/65/15 going cheap PM me (shameless plug)
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@glasgowcyclops, @grazzenger, I always laugh when u see Brits in the Alps in their fake 4x4 school run mobiles stuck at the side whilst the locals in their battered peugeot 106's fly past. When will they learn its not "All about the money" but "It's all about the tyres"
After all it is free
After all it is free
@Bigtipper, How is that face mask? Bought an identical one off ebay. Not used it yet.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Good grief. Could we just agree winter tyres are the canine's spherical objects and stop droning on and on and on about them? Either that or rename this site "Tyreheads".
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Thinking of a day trip - what are weekdays like at Glenshee or the Lecht? Do the car parks fill up before 10am? Thanks.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
I have the same face mask (bought of eBay for a few pound) @Frankeh.
I used it on a god-awful day at the Lecht last year (50 mpg winds and cold) and it did a pretty good job.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@Frankeh, it keeps my nose warm. It was very cold in the morning, but very little wind. I must have put it on some toilet deoderiser at some point and it smelled of toilet deodoriser all day. Good value for money.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Great. I wasn't too hopeful for the £2 odd it cost but figured it was worth a shot!
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Weekend looking pretty windy at the moment. Thursday looking decent if planning a day trip.
I'm going to Glencoe to do some mtb and hopefully, skiing. I know it's a difficult question but historically, what are the conditions on the A82 coming up from the south, mid afternoon in early March likely to be? I lived in the Alps for 10 years and 95% of the time in winter conditions, used snowsocks on my car, so I'd be bringing a pair with me.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
@gold whitesmith, they clear the roads very quickly....
Yesterday was very good! Fresh tracks all over the mountain inc coming down the red to the car park at about 3pm!!
Opening up Etive Glades, managed two laps before anyone else spotted it!
Think this thread is turning into a Glencoe love-in... And no wonder when you see those pictures and video. Definitely my favourite Scottish ski area. Fewer snow fences thanks to the interesting natural terrain, great views, and, occasionally, a vertical drop that wouldn't be out of place in the Alps. Annoyed that I can't go up just now, as I'm just back from Austria, and have to get on with life, but hopefully this'll last a wee while. (N.B. It won't.)@gold whitesmith, unless you drive up in a snowstorm, or its windy aftermath, you should be fine. The road isn't actually closed very often.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@snowfraise, as long as you avoid half-term, you should be absolutely fine. depending on the region, half-term this year is 7-15th or 14-22nd feb. it appears most regions are the second week which is also the english half-term.
The forecast for Glenshee is beginning to look interesting. Eralier in the week it was looking like heay rain tomorrow but the surface pressure charts are showing the warm front as becoming occluded so it seems the temps are dropping. The Met Office are showing periods of heavy snow tomorrow so that should help the snow cover.
Less detail available for Saturday but still a mix of cloud and snow showers.
The big issue is likely to be the wind and associated windchill. Saturday is showing 20mph gusting 40mph and poor vis. I'm now in two minds whether to still go. Glenshee in a howling gale and zero vis is not great for an adult never mind a 7 year old.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Yeah I think I'm out on glenshee due to the wind.
Bunch of people I know were up today and it looked good!
After all it is free
After all it is free
Going to give it a go anyway. B&B in Braemar is booked for tonight but given the detailed forecast the journey there could be interesting. Might be a good test for the new Nokian winter tyres on my wife's car. The wheel/tyre combo I ordered for mine should have been here yesterday but still seem to be in transit between Germany and the UK.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Couple of pics from monday at Glencoe. Great days skiing and good to catch up with some of the mid week regulars after the summer. Finally got some Spring Run pictures I'm happy with.
Glenshee yesterday was quite mixed - fog in the morning then some beautiful sunshine later on. Hardly any wind so not too cold. Snow pretty good, but a few patchy areas of heather. Great fun!
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Glencoe today closed due to wind. I have an unhappy son on his way back down the road. They gave it till 10am but the wind was gusting 70mph on the plateau. Scotland... sheesh.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
A good day today at Glenshee. To help with an early start my son (7 years old) and I drove up to Braemar last night. We stayed at a great little B&B (Dalmore Lodge) that I've used before. It only has 4 rooms (I think) and the hosts, Richard and Marilyn, are a lovely couple. We arrived at around 8:30pm and as we'd eaten on the way up we stayed in the room. After a bit of chat my son dozed off. I'd come prepare with a couple of refreshments and managed to keep these cool on the windowsill.
After a good nights sleep we had a very hearty breakfast with more on offer than even I could eat (and I can eat a LOT). Breakfast took a bit longer than planned and we didn't leave Braemar until around 8:10. It was snowing heavily and the road was becoming covered but thanks to the winter tyres it didn't affect us. Just outside Braemar we joined a convoy of about 7 cars behind a rather slow moving snowplough/gritter. We pulled in to the Glenshee upper car park at around 8:30 and while Oscar started to get himself ready (very slowly) I walk over and got our lift passes. The queue was small and I was only in it for a couple of minutes.
After what seemed like an age (why does it take a 7 year old so long to get kitted up) we went up the Badenoch Chair and picked up the Bucharts Access Poma. At this point the snow got heavier and it was a near whiteout. The windchill was severe and I wished I brought my snood. Oscar was fine as the only piece of skin exposed was the tip of his nose.
After a coupe of runs on Bucharts and Claybokie we headed to Sunnyside as there wasn't much open. The Cairnwell T-Bar had run briefly but then stopped. We were told that the wind had below a T-Bar over the wire and had damaged the top rollers.
As we crossed to Sunnyside at around 9:30 the queues were already building. There were big queues for lift tickets and a long snaking queue for kit hire. The queue for the Sunnyside Pomas was quite short but the queue for the chair was building.
The website had said that Caenlochan and Coire Fionn Poma's were due to open but there was no sign of it when we went over. Even at this early stage queues were building. One of the Cluny tows was off and that proved a bit of a bottleneck. After a couple of circuits we went back to the Cairnwell side. BY now the car park was bursting and it showed o the hill. While there was plenty of space on piste the lift queues were building. It took us 35 minutes to get from the bottom Bedenoch to Bucharts. We looped Bucharts a few times (the snow was excellent) before heading back to the car for a break and a sandwich.
After lunch we went back to Bucharts (Oscar's choice as he'd discovered a couple of small jumps ) and did a coupe of loops. They finally repaired the Cairnwell T Bar but by the time we got there the queue was enormous. We could also see that Caenlochan was open so it was back over to Sunnyside. We tracked over to Caenlochan and were met with another long queue. After about 10 minutes in the queue the Liftie came over and said that he'd had reports of kids being lifted 5 feet in the air at the top of the tow as they hadn't built up the track sufficiently and if we continued it was at our own risk. When Oscar heard this he was delighted se we said we'd take the chance. The Liftie wasn't joking. At the very top there is a dip that is normally filled it but I suspect a combination of the wind blowing the snow away and a desire to get uplift working they hadn't filled it in. I didn't see the start as Oscar went out of sight over the ridge but I saw him coming back down as I crested the ridge. His words to me were that is was "awesome" and tonight when I replayed the GoPro footage I could hear him say "that was EPIC!".
The Coire Fionn bowl was very interesting. In general there was plenty of snow but it was very hard and wind-packed. We had a great run down but then hit the next issue; the queue at Coire Fionn Poma. There was only one of the two working and the queue was very long. There was no queue management so everyone was queueing back up the hill. Why they hadn't got any ski patrol down to organise double of triple queues is beyond me. After a long wait we skied down to the blue to Tom Dearg as Meall Odhar was closed. As we approached we could see Tom Dearg wasn't running. The wire was off and the engineers were attempting to repair it. After about 10 minutes we gave up and started to hike toward Cluny. However as we were hiking we could see Tom Dearg restart so we headed back.
After a circle back to Caenlochan (omitting Coire Fionn to avoid the queue) we made our way back to our car.
Overall it was a good day. The team at Glenshee had made a good effort to get additional uplift working but were hampered by storm damage earlier in the week. I also suspect that other uplift prep had been rushed hence the issues that were experienced. Some queues were very long and unacceptably so but there was nothing that could be done.
The snow cover was interesting. There was some great cover but there was a lot of very windblown hard pack. Icy patches were few and far between but the hard pack made up for the usual Glenshee conditions. The wind wasn't as bad as forecast and seemed to come in waves. In the valleys it was virtually non-existent but once in an exposed area it was quite severe. At times, Oscar was struggling to make progress.
Finally, at 4:00 pm I convinced Oscar we had had enough. After an hour of so of playing Minecraft on a phone he fell asleep in the car.
I am very glad we went. With a trip to La Plagne in 2 weeks time it was good to get on proper snow.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Apologies for the cross-post but the Lowther Hills Ski Club is looking to raise some funds ASAP.
Following admin's excellent suggestion, we're doing a crowd funder for a weather station and webcam on Lowther Hill, and as its 30 days are now active, we're looking to get enough weather geeks, ski freaks, and webcam peepers to cough up a few quid to get them installed this season. If we go over our goal, any leftovers will help us buy a few more metres of portable snow fencing.
I've used 'justgiving' as most of us in the UK know & trust the site. Unfortunately, unlike the US crowdfunding sites, there's no paypal option but justgiving charge lower fees, and it only takes a minute to stick in your card details anyway.
Great stuff @moffatross - it looks nearly as good as Weardale .
Is that forecast to last until the weekend? Wouldn't mind a spot of ski touring that wasn't the usual 300 mile drive.....
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Yeah, I loved my trip to Weardale, mountainaddict. To be honest, the snow yesterday was pretty variable, comprising sastrugi, windslab, neve, frozen grass and some good stretches of evenly distributed softer snow. It was all skiable, but it wasn't entirely 'creamy powder'.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I can feel a half term trip up there brewing
After all it is free
After all it is free
I've got the day off tomorrow and am heading up to the highlands. It's between Cairngorm and Glenshee. Does anyone have any intel on what's currently skiing better? I imagine pretty similar but thought I'd see.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Sitting in Glenshee typing this out while eating chips and hoping I don't slip on the floor going up for another coffee.
CONDITIONS - Excellent
WIND - Fresh this morning but now about 20mph which nothing
SNOW- Again, super cold, dry and loads of it with some decent powder near the fences.
SKY - BLUE......
CAR PARK - About 8 lines of cars so very quiet.
CHIPS - HOT with salt and vinegar.
Having a great day and conditions are now brilliant. Loving every minute, any other snowheads up?
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
