 Poster: A snowHead
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Six environmental and outdoor bodies have called on the Scottish Executive to determine the future of Cairngorm Estate, which contains the ski area operated by Cairngorm Mountain.
The estate has been put up for sale by its current owners, Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Environmentalists have often opposed developments and skiing expansion on Cairngorm, and the £20 million funicular railway - recently built and operated to exacting conservation standards - has become a substantial financial burden to a ski area which now suffers regular snow shortages.
Now the environmental groups have raised the possibility that skiing might cease altogether, with the resultant costs of dismantling the skiing infrastructure.
This report from The Scotsman.
Any comments?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Oh dear - they're at it again. How many of the nearby residents have been polled I wonder? How many of the campaigners sit in their comfirtable suburban homes on large salaries? I know there are a couple of local (?) groups in there, but how many are actually locals? Usual stuff - the locals are only considered yokels and not entitled to earn a living for more than 4 months of the year!
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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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I learned to ski at Glencoe in the early 80s and the snow was pretty good back then. It's a shame that the environment nutters have any say in Scottish skiing's future - after all there's only 4 resorts across the whole country, so what harm can the lifts do - but I fear the basic lack of snow and therefore profitability will kill it first...
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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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Plake, Bugs that live under rocks at the top of the mountain are much more important than any other consideration. Hat off to you learning in Glencoe - not the most beginner friendly place Ive ever seen!!
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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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I agree! Respect to the hardy Glencoe beginner - learn to ski on that mountain (which has true character for the experienced skier) and you must be immune to anything!
Plake rules.
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brian
brian
Guest
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| Quote: |
(actually I was quite glad about the last bit, a few more adventurous types prepared to ignore the closed signs got the Lady and M1 to ourselves).
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To be fair to CML they did state on their website in the conditions report that other runs were skiable - it was just that they hadn't been pisted or checked so it was all at your own risk.
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| Quote: |
I agree! Respect to the hardy Glencoe beginner - learn to ski on that mountain (which has true character for the experienced skier) and you must be immune to anything!
Plake rules.
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David Goldsmith, he only rules if he learned before they built the plateau tow
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I did 
When I learned as an 8-9yr old you got a (single?) chair up from the carpark, then walked up gently for about 5min, where the plateau tow is now, to a kind of shed where they had all the hire skis. On day one I was being taught snowploughs by a friend of my dad's who used to work as an instructor, but I was struggling and had a huge tantrum where I took my skis off and refused to do any more unless I was allowed to go to the top of the mountain. I couldn't turn yet, but luckily being from a mountaineering family my dad somehow got me up the T-bar to the top, and then I was fine, suddenly I could turn and I loved it. Glencoe is definitely not the easiest place to learn, but when you're a kid what the hell, you'll try anything!
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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.
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Great story - really appreciate that beginner's tale!
Yup, the original Glencoe access chair was a single - the first chair in Scotland - built by Clydeside shipbuilders - pure enthusiasts.
It was replaced by a Doppelmayr double chair many years ago, but the other single chair on the mountain - the Cliffhanger ('Cliffy') - is still there .... as far as I know.
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Cliffhanger Chair is still there, as is the Cairnwell Chairlift at Glenshee. Off the three single seaters which existed, two are still in operation and they were both installed after the White Lady Chairlift on CairnGorm which was a detachable grip lift. Believe the old Access Chair came into use near the end of 61 so around the same time as the Lady Chair.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Winterhighland, given the scary number (well, scary in a relative sense) of times that "modern" detachables have detached in an uncontrolled fashion it's amazing that there weren't any (?) incidents on Cairngorm.
Plake, so did I...  And I'm pretty sure I've skied from Plateau to car park, once.
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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.
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Peter S, What fab pix! However I can remember being in Caringorm in 1966 and using the Cas T bar. The oldest Caringorm pic shows no White Lady T bar - amazing. We had plenty of cover that year but I do remember sheet ice on the bottom of the Lady for the Scottish Junior Champs!!! At the time I didn't really think anything of it - I dare say I'd be windier now!!! 
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You know it makes sense.
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I'm sure the pay-back on the funicular wouldn't be such a burden if the environmental groups (much of whom are government quangos and funded by we tax payers) hadn't made such a fuss in the first place. The environmental audit and its construction implications defied belief at times.. I love being a Scot and our landscape but some sensible balance has to be struck.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Environmentalists seem to have extraordinary reserves of energy and friends in high places and I reckon they'll get their way eventually. Then, everyone will be forced to step into a ruddy great jet plane for the alps or further and dump yet more tons of CO2 all over the shop. Don't s'pose they've considered that.
Leave it be. The White Lady on a spring day or massive slushy bumps down the Ciste Gully remain two of my faves anywhere on earth. The snow will return when the gulf stream cools and we'll have a few glorious years before we all freeze to death anyway.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
Winterhighland, given the scary number (well, scary in a relative sense) of times that "modern" detachables have detached in an uncontrolled fashion it's amazing that there weren't any (?) incidents on Cairngorm.
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The lifts which had the most problems were those which had gravity grips, they to a certain extent relied on gravity rather than mechanical grip to grip the haul rope and these have been outlawed in most countries. Probably the lifts with the worst saftey record was detachable Yan lifts.
The Cairngorm Chairlift was a rack-rail system, so the grips relied on mechanical grip in the same way as fixed grip lifts do. Sadly there have been fatal accidents with the Cairngorm Chairlift, but none of them related to grip/carrier or mechanical failure, but were down to people falling from the lift, due to their own actions, such as a case of a pre-teen boy who was see attempting to "surf" on the saftey bar before falling off as the chair crossed a pylon.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Winterhighland wrote: |
| such as a case of a pre-teen boy who was see attempting to "surf" on the saftey bar before falling off as the chair crossed a pylon. |
OUCH! When your number's up, your number's up!
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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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Winterhighland, Worst day I can remember on Caringorm was total sheet ice everywhere. Someone fell off the M1 poma right at the top and started sliding down taking others in his wake. The track is so narrow and it was so icy that it ended up with bodies everywhere hurtling down the poma track wiping out everyone coming up. I skied down as fast as possible and got the bloke at the bottom to turn it off. Then he started it again. Eventually we persuded him to turn it off until the ski patrol had sorted out the mess. I believe there were 13 amulances called up the hill for that incident, and one of my students had his leg cut open to the bone on a snowboard (not the fault of the snowboarder at all).
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Winterhighland, I don't think it was the same day as "my incident" as I would have heard about someone being killed. I know there were several other incidents that day though - at least one on the White Lady T bar......
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