 Poster: A snowHead
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Hey all
I'm flying back to Leeds from Val T on the 28th of Dec and thinking that instead of driving home home I'll go and have a play on some northern snow 
Hoping that some of you can give me a run down of the Scottish resorts, I've done a little bit of googleing but pretty clueless as to what size the resorts are, how easy they are to drive to, how close any accommodation is?
If anyone else would be interested in joining me I'll be driving up from Leeds airport the middle of Saturday and staying for 3-4 nights.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Daishan, you need to play this according to the conditions of the various ski areas at the time. With good snow, all the areas - Cairngorm, Glencoe, Nevis, Glenshee - offer great skiing. The Lecht is more geared to beginners and intermediates (but is the best set-up for learning at that level).
Keep an eye on www.winterhighland.info
Glencoe now has basic accommodation pods at the foot of the mountain, so is unique in that regard. The Kings House is the closest hotel. Aviemore has the most comprehensive accommodation and resort facilities. Remember that it's located 9 miles from the mountain (Cairngorm). If skiing Cairngorm, I can also recommend staying at Glenmore (there's a youth hostel, or the national outdoor training centre at Glenmore Lodge), because it's much closer to the lifts and a beautiful location.
You could think of staying at Fort William to ski Nevis Range and Glencoe.
As I say, the prevailing conditions are everything. Allow for alternative activities if the weather's bad.
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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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Found this resume of the resorts written in 2010. Nothing's changed and this question gets asked a few times a year:
If the back corries are open and looks like fun then for me I'd go to Nevis Range. Theres plenty of scope on the rest of the mountain for intermediates. Also tends to be quieter than the other places.
If *ALL* of Cairngorm is open then its good fun. THe ciste, west wall area are great for those with a bit more experience and given the snow conditions at the moment are a lot of fun. However it gets very , very busy and all it takes is the funicular to break down for major queues to build up at the bottom.
Glenshee probably has the most variety, again if all the lifts are open then it spreads the crowds out, they aren't reliant on just one or two lifts to get folk away from the base station. Glas Maol and the tiger are good for advanced skiers. Theres loads for beginners and intermediates. Great views as well to the southern cairngorms.
Glencoe is essentially a big unpisted playground. It has (correct me if I'm wrong) the steepest run in scotland with the flypaper. Spring run with lots of fresh is probably one of my favourite runs in scotland. I'd probably not take a beginner here, there are pisted runs but its not really what it all about.
Look at http://www.highland-instinct.co.uk/ for ski area stats and route finder. Also a fantastic video! Winterhighland for updates on conditions. Glencoe and Nevis tend to open after New Year but have had a lot of snow so far (more than usual) so may open early.
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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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Daishan: Dunno where you live but it'll still be a fair run from Leeds Bradford to the Scottish areas - ie between 300 and 350 miles each way - so 6-7 hours drive after you've landed. You could always break the journey at Perth - cheap Travelodges aplenty - which would mean 75mins (Glenshee) to 2hrs (Nevis) drive to the slopes on your first day. You can get to all of the areas from Perth though, which is good for heading where the weather and conditions are best on the day.
As mentioned above, with Scotland, it's more than imperative to check the weather carefully and make no firm plans until about a day or two in advance. The wind is the issue - IIRC the UK windspeed record was recorded at the top of Cairngorm....in the order of 200mph  - meaning that the areas can be stormbound, sometimes for a few days. However, when the weather and snow play ball it's undoubtedly a fantastic place to ski.
Last minute digs isn't usually a problem (though New Year week may be busier and more expensive) - see Laterooms.com, Hotels.com or Booking.com:
- Cairngorm: Stay in Aviemore or (further from the slopes) in Newtonmore, Boat of Garten, Kingussie or Carrbridge.
- Nevis Range: Stay in Fort William or Spean Bridge.
- Glenshee: Stay in Blairgowrie, Braemar or Spittal of Glenshee.
- Glencoe: Where we had great grooming on two trips last winter - to correct earlier post : Stay in Tyndrum, Glencoe, Ballachulish, Onich, Bridge of Orchy or Crianliarich. Or stay in a 'hobbit house' at the foot of the slopes, as mentioned above. Basic camping toilets and showers but very novel - and the base station cafe/bar stays open on an evening.
Note that, with the exception of Glencoe (hobbit houses and nearby Kingshouse Hotel) and Glenshee (Spittal of Glenshee Hotel aprox. 5 miles from the slopes) it can be a bit of a commmute to the slopes. The villages suggested above are all within 10-30 mins drive of the skiing - so all perfectly do-able.
On a cautionary note, after the sophisticated lifts and immaculate grooming of the 3 Vallees, Scotland would be a bit of a shock to the system. We once skied at Glencoe with Bergmeister and Mrs B immediately after they'd come back from Colorado. We're all Scotland veterans and as much as they love all of the Scottish areas, they said they felt like they were in a Warren Miller film in Kazakhstan  ....You might also be bored by the small size of the ski areas - so (subject to the weather and snow conditions) you could do worse than a road trip - say:
- Night 1 Perth.
- Day 1- Ski Glencoe, overnight Ft. William.
- Day 2 - Ski Nevis Range, overnight Newtonmore.
- Day 3 - Ski Cairngorm.
The above drive would also cover some spectacular scenery .
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Glencoe and Nevis have the best nearby off-piste. Cairngorm absolutely destroys both but no one would advertise much of the nearby terrain as it's very steep but excellent. Glenshee is excellent but more spread out with some good skiing that needs a hitchhike to get back to the lifts. Scotland in general is great, loved living there and it's the only bit of the UK I'd move back too.
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I'm flying back to Leeds from Val T on the 28th of Dec and thinking that instead of driving home home I'll go and have a play on some northern snow Very Happy
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Hope it works out for you - but one thing to check - will the ski areas be open 31/12 and 1-2/1? In the past I had an idea it would be fun to ski christmas day when there was good snow but nowhere was going to open, New year may be even worse!! Worth checking.
BTW, wave to us as you ski past, I'm in les menuires christmas week too, although we dont return to the uk till the 31st
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| Quote: |
| but one thing to check - will the ski areas be open 31/12 and 1-2/1? |
Never any guarantees with Scotland of course but historically, the likelihood is of snow (and open skiing) between December (often November) and April (often May).
As Comedy Goldsmith has mentioned, Winterhighland is the definitive website for Scottish skiing info/weather etc. Scroll to the bottom of this report of last weekend at Cairngorm and check out the pics and reports from previous New Year weeks at all Scottish areas:
http://www.winterhighland.info/pix/pixalbum.php?pix_id=927
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