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Skiing in Scotland in April

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi all,

I'm just back (a week ago) from Val D'Isere. Had an awesome time Very Happy and the missus and I are now thinking about a cheeky weekend in Scotland in the 2nd week of April. So -

Which of the areas has the most reliable snow? Is it safe to book this far in advance or should we wait til nearer the time? Where is the best skiing? The skiing at Nevis range looks like it might be interesting?

Any thoughts appreciated.

PS I wish the ski season lasted longer Sad
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Google "skiing Scotland" and check their webcams.

Mind you what you are asking is a lot!

Val D base level starts at 1785m at La Daille. If you insist on the lowest point of Espace Killy you can ski to Tignes Les Brevieres at 1550m.

The highest point in UK is about 1000m and you want reliable snow!
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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?
N10skier,
Good snow in Scotland in mid april is common but not certain. Aviemore and Nevis usually are running at that time and glencoe may do. Glenshee a bit less likely and I don't know about the Lecht.
The highlands is a great place to visit at that time of the year with reasonably long days and often good weather.
Personally I live on the west side and know these areas better but where will have the best snow come april is not predictable, if Nevis range is good the back bowls are fabulous.
If the skiing is not so good there is a whole lot of other outdoorsy stuff to do.


saikee,
Height comparisons are utterly irrelevant Scotland's lattitude is considerably different as is it's distinctly unpredictable maritime climate. If there was land over 1500m here it would almost certainly be glaciated.
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Quote:

I wish the ski season lasted longer


You've still got over 7 weeks of Val D'Isere's (or Val Thorens) winter season left, plus great conditions on the European glaciers until at least the end of June! Very Happy

Loads of time yet for a cheap flight to Geneva or Munich and a cheeky Alpine weekend ski dash! wink
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
N10skier, early April is a pretty reliable time of the year for skiing at Glencoe & Cairngorm and the Nevis Range too sometimes offers wonderful forgiving snow in its back coires.

Check out historical reports here ... http://www.winterhighland.info/publicreports/

You might get spring snow days like these ...

Glencoe ... http://www.youtube.com/user/moffatross#p/u/12/OhwWQGnH_l4

Cairngorm ... http://www.youtube.com/user/moffatross#p/u/11/sn8Spg2h8v8

Or if you're lucky, a freshies day like this ... http://www.youtube.com/user/moffatross#p/u/13/mameUL5Ipn0
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You'll need to Register first of course.
saikee, Puzzled Laughing Laughing
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
saikee wrote:
The highest point in UK is about 1000m and you want reliable snow!

The highest point in the UK is Ben Nevis which is 1344m, the summit of Cairngorm mountain is 1245m above sea level making it the sixth highest mountain in the UK (the second, third, fourth and fifth highest are all in the same mountain range).

T Bar, is quite correct in saying height comparisons with the Alps are irrelevant, what is more relevant is latitude which has, for snowsports, a positive affect on temperature (the plateau above the ski area and below the summit of Cairngorm is sub-arctic tundra!) and Scotland's maritime climate which can have a positive and negative affect and is why the weather is more volatile than you'll get in the Alps. That's not such a bad thing at times though when the cold and moisture blows in off the sea and you get dumps like that over the last few days (putting all the Scottish ski areas in the top 10 for snowfall in the world yesterday, with Cairngorm, Glencoe, Nevis, Glenshee and The Lecht 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7 respectively. However powder can turn to spring snow quickly if it warms up and spring snow could refreeze again into boilerplate so you never quite know what you'll get if you book ahead.

I'd say the likelihood of there being sliding in Scotland 2 weeks into April is pretty good (I have a BASI course booked there so it better be lol) but whether overheads will be good is impossible to predict but we're getting to the time of year when days are lengthening and your chances of better weather are higher. It's worth underlining that we've had top to bottom sliding at Cairngorm since early November though so I'd be pretty confident about there being something slippy underfoot.

Scottish skiing can be a gamble, more so than the Alps although this season has been very good in Scotland and in parts of the Alps not so good, but if you get the conditions it'll be great and certainly a different experience with, as a backup, far more to do away from the mountains than you'd typically get in the Alps.

Lots of good info above so I won't go on Toofy Grin
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
N10skier,
If you're into backcountry touring - April can be the best time by far : settled weather - long days - plenty of spring snow on the plateau etc. The excellent aspect of Scottish skiing is the winter gales pack the snow into gullies, so there can be massive depth in stream beds and on the lee-side of peaks.

We've had excellent touring as late as the early May bank holiday & there are plenty of folks who ski well into summer - Helen (Hilly) from Winterhighland skiid 12 consecutive months last year!!!

A couple of shots from April 2006

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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Quote:

Mind you what you are asking is a lot!


Couldn't disagree more.

40" of snow in the past week in Scotland's ski areas! Very Happy Very Happy
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Maybe when saikee said the UK, he was thinking of Ingerland's highest mountains which do indeed top out at (not quite) 1,000 metres. The contrast between the amount and quality of the snow in Scotland versus the English mountains this winter has been incredible though and you'd almost be forgiven for thinking they were two different countries. wink


Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Wed 16-03-11 1:09; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
moffatross, Laughing Laughing
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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.
Hey guys, thanks for all the info, we've decided to go for it as it sounds like there's a reasonable chance of getting in some skiing and if not it'll still be nice to be in the mountains again maybe with a bit of whisky for company Smile
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 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
Nice one - looking rather good today N10skier, take a look at these:

http://cairngormwebcams.openbrolly.com/

(Remember it's not always like that though Laughing )

BTW, if you want you can let me know your days if you're at Cairngorm I may well be around whilst you're up (I work with The Ski School up there) give me a shout and I can always show you round if I'm free (will be working and doing a course but in between that ...) Toofy Grin


Last edited by 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 on Wed 16-03-11 12:29; edited 1 time in total
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Have fun Very Happy
Scotland should be great early to mid April.
Sometimes its the best time of year.

FWIW the very summit of Ben Nevis (1,344 metres) gets on average 7 metres of snowfall a year.
Which is the same annual snow fall as Verbier or Lake Louise (the biggest difference is that these 2 places obviously also get less rain & mild Atlantic weather!)
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I like that statistic Doug - very cool (leaving aside the rain & mild Atlantic weather bit Laughing ) Cool
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
roga, haven't logged on for a couple of days so didn't see the webcams on Wednesday... but it certainly looks snowy there today snowHead Thanks re the offer to show us around, will let you know when we've sorted out our travel/dates etc and we can take it from there.

geoffers, nice photos by the way, where you were camping looks amazing.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
N10skier,
Quote:
geoffers, nice photos by the way, where you were camping looks amazing.

It was in the Lairig Ghru on a little island (grid ref NN 98437 95548) near Corrour Bothy, having just skiid down the Taylor's Burn (Allt Clach nan Taillear) which you can see to the north of the camp site- the gully running SW from the top of BenMacdui
Hope do do something similar this spring.... Smile

I've marked it on a google map >>here<<
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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?
N10skier, well if you haven't seen it yet here's a video of conditions on the 16th:


http://youtube.com/v/zkmIWimoDGY&feature=channel_video_title

geoffers, interesting!

What kind of tent and camping kit would you recommend for that kind of trip?
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roga,
Quote:

geoffers, interesting!

What kind of tent and camping kit would you recommend for that kind of trip?

If you're doing that particular route, the Corrour Bothy looks quite quite comfy, but we weren't sure so camped. Lots of boggy ground where it's flat by the river in the Lairig Ghru, but the island was nice & dry. The route does get done in a single day, but it would be a biiiiiiiig day Confused

There were 3 of us, so 2 in the tent & 1 in a bivi-bag. Bivi is a lightweight option if you're sure the weather is settled - otherwise light 4-season tent (eg NorthFace:Westwind) - 4/5season down-bag & thermarest mat (superb for snow camping) - MSR Whisperlite stove etc.

Have done 4 camping overnighters in Scotland, plus 2 longer tent-based tours in the US Sierra Nevada & Canadian Rockies. You get used to the load, and it's epic being out in the wilderness overnight, particularly if you can set up camp and do some yo-yo-ing without the sac the next day .
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