 Poster: A snowHead
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...but Britain's best known ski resort now has a brewery!
I can't remember where I spotted a bottle of Cairngorm beer, but it seems to be going well, and winning awards. The beer names are a hoot - they include 'Nessie's Monster Mash', 'White Lady' (that one will please any Cairngorm ski lover), and (wait for it) 'Sheepshaggers Gold'.
Has anyone sampled a wee dram of these brews? Apparently they were shown at the beer festival at London's Olympia (home of the ski show) last week, when the roof was struck by lightning, sending thousands of gallons of London rainwater into the 'pub' below. Hopefully nothing was diluted and polluted in the process.
For more info. have a look at the website of the Cairngorm Brewery Company. The labels are gorgeous (look at 'Taste Notes' and 'Seasonal Cask Ales'.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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David, I remember the skis, as I recall they were built by a Norweigen who persuaded the Highland development agency to invest mega-bucks. Never used them did you?
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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@traxvax, actually he was an Austrian - Leo Vielhaber - and probably his skis ultimately failed because they didn't have a snappy name like 'Traxvax', or 'Dyson' or 'Hoover'. They were called Vielhaber.
Yes, his factory had plenty of financial support from the government (as have other fine enterprises in the Cairngorm locality) but one of the problems was that his skis went in opposing directions. For that reason, not many instructors up there used them, but we all had fun 'experimenting' with them from time to time.
His USP was the 'Multi Torsion Box' construction. Don't ask.
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brian
brian
Guest
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I had a couple of pints of Cairngorm Stag in a hotel in Aviemore recently. Pretty good pint, a bit like Caledonian's 80/- but not quite so full flavoured.
There was a wee brewery at Tomintoul knocking out some good beers as well, don't know if they're still on the go ?
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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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Vielhaber skis,'eh? I had a go on those monsters in the mid '80's.................they were built like tanks, weren't they?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Yes, except that tanks usually know which way they're going.
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David Goldsmith, I was at the beer festival last week, although not there when the roof was struck by lightning. I arrived just after as they were mopping up. At the time I was stuck in a coach on the A40 in a 3 hour traffic jam because Hangar Lane was flooded. Three hours late for the beer festival, that's bad!
But when we eventually got there and did some sampling, Cairngorm Brewery's Cairngorm Gold was one of my favourites. There were quite a few good Scottish brews, and we lingered round the Scottish stand for some time trying different ones.
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Hope you enjoyed them, RachelQ. Anyone enjoyed the products from Belhaven Brewery near Dunbar. Long time since I've had the pleasure but I'm sure they still brew good stuff.
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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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They must have added these new beers to the 67 different malts that they serve in the Winkie - if the Winkie's still going that is. 
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Yup, the Winking Owl (full title) was going strong last time I was in Aviemore (Jan 03), but with hugely reduced ski instructor numbers. The place really has taken a hammering with the erratic winters of the past decade - there was plenty of room to move.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Going even further back, Vielhaber Skis started in Birnam next to Dunkeld on the A9. We used to pass it on the way north every friday night in the 60's (apologies to Tony Blair for being involved in the 60's). This was before the new road when one went through every village at a high  rate of knots to reach Carrbridge Jiggin' before it was full.
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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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kuwait_ian, a nice pint of 80/- (shillings) goes down a treat-perhaps we should serve it in the bar at Hotel California.
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handyman, yes, from memory his earlier workshop is mentioned in the 'Skisters' book of Scottish ski history. Did you ever see the skis made by Gustav Fischnaller in Glenshee?
I don't think he ever made very many, but they looked nicely turned out.
What's Carrbridge Jiggin'? Something to do with Struan House?
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You know it makes sense.
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David Goldsmith, no I never came across these skis.
Carrbridge Jiggin'? As all Scots know, jigging is dancing. For years Carrbridge Hotel ran ski dances Friday & Saturday nights. So popular that if too late you didn't get in - hence the high speed drive north often in blizzards.
At that time a group of us had a cottage in Boat of Garten, like so many others. 
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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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Somewhat OT
On the theme of ski resorts which once had a ski factory, but no longer, I noticed when I was in the St Anton ski museum (well worth a visit) a pair of locally made skis by a manufacturer called Jenewein. Judging from their style and bindings they looked to be circa early 1960s. I know that there is still a sportshop in St Anton called Jenewein - has anyone (DG?) any knowledge of this manufacturer?
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Poster: A snowHead
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No, I don't recall that one, but until the advent of aluminium lamination, and more significantly fibreglass lamination (early 1960s), it was not unusual for ski factories to thrive in small volume production since they were essentially skilled woodworking shops.
Each stage of manufacturing advance since then has demanded more expensive machinery and higher volumes, not to mention the marketing and distribution issues.
Brands like Head, Kneissl and Fischer were already becoming dominant over 40 years ago, though.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Not sure how old this discussion is...but my first pair of skis was a pair of 140c
"Fischnaller Racer"s. I then progressed onto a pair of 170cm "Vielhaber Carbonflex" (the top of the line poseur ski was called the Black Fusion, replete with gold leaf graphics!) so I skied on Scottish skis until 1985, aged 14, when I got some horrendously bad (soft) Dynastars. 
I didn't realise I was part of such a small minority!
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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, have a pair of Vielhaber skis in the garage! They are indestructible! With regards ski instructor numbers partly this is a result of CMLs actions. They spent 5 years swallowing up almost all the local independent ski schools to get a monopoly for their own Snowsports School. When they just about achieved their aim, they shut down the Snowsports School mid season leaving the mountain with no on site snowsports school. 
Talking of breweries, wee wee-ups spring to mind!! Some of the older ski school names have returned or revived as a result.
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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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Did they really buy out all the other ski schools?
Maybe it's time for a revival of the 'Scottish Norwegian Ski School', 'Ski School d'Ecosse', 'Combined Services Ski School', etc. etc. and ... the one I worked for ... the Weekend Ski Club (which bussed schoolkids to the Spey Valley from all over the UK)
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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 joke used to be this: "Veilhaber make a really great ski... trouble is it's never a whole pair".
The crowd from the Winky now congregate in the Doo Below. That's over the road round the back and underneath the Skiing Doo restaurant. That's where you'll find all the old ski pictures and the old instructors. Nice cosy, woody little bar, tons of beers to try. The Winky still a very nice bar though and full of husky racers last week.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Swiller, I gather you caught the wrong choo-choo from Aviemore on Friday night. You meant to catch the one that goes up to the Ptarmigan, but found yourself pulling into Euston?
Just as you were arriving in the Smoke yesterday morning, passengers 500 miles north were kissing pooder.
Is there an explanation for this?
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Hey Bode Swiller, how was the trip to Aviemore? piccies from Sunday look pretty awesome!
Must get over to the Doo Below, believe it or not I've never been in there!
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roga, ah well, luckily I was up in that area on business and the cunning plan was to tack a day and a half on the end. Sadly, that day and a half was thursday and friday when the hill was closed and I needed to get back darn sarf for Saturday. So, I just contented myself with visits to various shops, pubs and restaurants, went for a walk, dodged around all the husky poo (good slalom practice that) and generally took in the delights of the highlands. Think I'll need to be up again later in the season - can't see that lot melting til July.
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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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It's a crying shame, Swiller. I go up (last Feb) and there's tons of snow but no rental skis. You go up and there's mad quantities of snow, but no helicopter.
This slide show (the opening shots were taken 10 January, and even then the cover was exceptional) gives a good impression of the conditions on Cairngorm right now:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/892906@N25/pool/show
Left-click the photos for dates/captions
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I could have used those in Aviemore last February. The great thing about Vielhaber skis - as Swiller has indicated - is that they would take you down two different pistes at the same time.
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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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Bode Swiller, sorry to hear that (not tempted by The Lecht or over to the west?) but at least you had a chance to wander round and relax.
Yeah, this could be a very long season, there is so much snow up there it's amazing - would love to do some summer skiing in Scotland this year
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FAQ
