 Poster: A snowHead
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... is the
Cairngorm Funicular, during the no-snow months, to stop people tramping on the vegetation and affecting the delicate ecology of the Cairngorm Summit.
So the doors at the top station remain firmly shut when there's no skiing, and visitors are limited to gazing from a terrace. But this regulation is under review, with the Cairngorms National Park Authority taking a fresh look at the pros and cons of letting people out - maybe on carefully controlled routes, and a descent from the top station to the car park.
This report from The Scotsman.
Alan, webmaster of Winterhighland.com has also made some interesting comment on this.
My understanding is that you can walk up Cairngorm without restriction from the car park, but the idea of the existing scheme is to stop the top being swamped with wandering tourists. The idea of ranger-led walking groups from the top station seems sensible. Presumably there would be an extra fee for that, but I've been impressed with the environmental management of Cairngorm over the past decade, and they obviously need money to continue the restoration of the mountain from some of the damage done in the 1960s and 1970s.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Do they tell you that you're locked into the top station before you board at the bottom station?
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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?
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David Goldsmith, Fascinating - I had no idea. Interesting that the Ramblers' Association wants the ban lifted though - I thought they were one of the groups who delayed the development for so long! The climbers and walkers have always been free to trample all over the flora (and fauna when it's small enough) - I have always failed to see why they should be a special case. Go in summer and see them walking off the paths - they are no more environmentally friendly than any other group.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Rob - good question. The website - www.cairngormmountain.com - doesn't make this clear, unless I missed something.
Buried at point 8 of the Terms and Conditions of Carriage is:
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| The ticket is sold on the understanding that the holder will not be permitted to exit the Ptarmigan top station building. |
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| The Scotsman wrote: |
| At present, the operators of the railway are legally bound to prevent people leaving the station at the top of the railway amid fears that increasing numbers of visitors to Cairn Gorm would damage the sensitive mountain environment. It was a condition of the project getting vital EC funds and to avoid the objections of environmental groups, including Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). |
Seems crystal clear. Are they ready to cough back the funds if they are going to break those conditions, I wonder?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I visited shortly after it was built. I seem to remember there was some sort of (not very large) notice by the ticket office at the bottom saying you couldn't leave the top station, but they didn't say this to you.
At the top you found yourself in a claustrophobic exhibition about the mountain environment and beyond that were very limited windows to peer out through. The station obviously hadn't been designed as a view point. Horrible. I went down again and CLIMBED back up so I could walk on, up to the summit and out beyond.
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I think the facilities have improved substantially since the Ptarmigan top station was put up. I was also up there shortly after it opened, and it was little more than a concrete shell. There's certainly a restaurant now, which is supposed to offer pretty good grub (a welcome change for those with memories of Cairngorm skiing in the old days!), a shop and exhibition of the 'gorms. I think the original intention was quite an ambitious interactive experience, but it may have been cut back.
What the building really needs, I would have thought, is a full 360-degree panoramic terrace. When you're near the top of a mountain you want to feel you're totally blasted by the views, with telescopes and lots of info.
In the winter you are, of course, allowed out of the building - it might be hard to ski otherwise! - but I'm not quite clear what the position is if you're not carrying skis (and probably using less damaging boots, if snow is thin).
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In the winter you are, of course, allowed out of the building - it might be hard to ski otherwise! - but I'm not quite clear what the position is if you're not carrying skis (and probably using less damaging boots, if snow is thin).
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The position is that you are allowed out but are supposed to stay within the ski area if you're a none skier.
Legally if you are a skier and the last lift you use is not the funicular you can go any where. Ie last year at the end of the season when only slush was left (about a fortnight after the whole mountain was covered in lots of snow almost burying the elephant fences!) inbounds I took my touring skis up the funicular, hopped on the Ptarmigan tow , then continued up Marquis's Well and over the back of Cairngorm where there was more snow. I walked back down.
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What the building really needs, I would have thought, is a full 360-degree panoramic terrace. When you're near the top of a mountain you want to feel you're totally blasted by the views, with telescopes and lots of info.
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Well it has a pretty good terrace with and approx. 220 degree panorama and info pints nameing the peaks and other features that are visible.
If you walk up you can get into the ptarmigan use the facilities, buy a beer etc. and then get back out - you couldn't when it first opened! What you can't do is go down in the funicular for example if the weather has turned bad and you have a young child with you - a complaint a year or so from a journalist. Not sure what they would do if I walked up and then presented my season ticket at top for a ride down - not sure how they would no I had not come up on the train. Might have to try that just to see what happens!
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FAQ
