 Poster: A snowHead
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North West that is - straight to Glencoe (Nevis is nae bad too)
This may come as a shock to some (if not many) but the west of Scotland is having some amazing powder days at the moment (actually it has had a few in March/April over the last few years!) with storms blowing in massive dumps of snow and (the few) skiers and boarders who head up in between finding quiet pistes and untracked powder - just look at today's photos on Winterhighland and then take a look back over the last few days for more!
Anyway, rest of this week looks like more snow and then I'm hoping for a few days more because I'm off up there for 4 days the weekend after next for the Nevis ski test - will definitely get some time in at Glencoe too 
Oh, I should mention Cairngorm has had a fair bit of snow too but nothing like the stonking conditions out west from what I can gather.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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fantastic stuff....
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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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Definitely worth taking advantage of. I've skied Glencoe in March with full cover (in fact, cover so deep that one t-bar cable was barely an arm's length above the snow surface) and it is a very remarkable experience, in an exceptional mountainscape. The huge panorama of the Rannoch Moor makes you wonder that you're on the same island.
Nevis, of course, has much more advanced facilities and will provide a more comprehensive 'alpine' experience, with more lifts. Glencoe is the mother of Scotland's ski areas. Raw, eccentric, very special, threatened.
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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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^ yup, that about sums it up Dave.
These types of conditions are not uncommon at this time of year and currently people on the mountain are reporting barely anyone else around which makes it great for anyone up there, not great for the company's finances though. It's also quite common for ski areas in Scotland like Glencoe to close sometime in April well before the snow runs out simply because of a lack of demand, looks like that might be the case again this year which is a shame.
There is a dearth of advertising and marketing for all the Scottish ski areas and they often do themselves no favours (at least some of them) for sure but there also seems to be an unwillingness, particularly amongst skiers, to consider Scotland for a short break even when it's at it's best and conditions are fantastic. Indicative of that I think is the fact that there have been over 200 views of this thread (probably in part because Scotland isn't mentioned in the thread title!) but only 2 replies apart from my posts - if it'd been about France I reckon there'd be a good 20 or so and anywhere else maybe half to three quarters of that - I'm rather puzzled to be honest because it can't be totally explained by so many in the south east thinking the world ends at Watford  , there are plenty in the north of England and central belt of Scotland who ignore the opportunities when they appear. Also, as I say, this seems to me to be particularly prevalent amongst skiers, take a look at SCUK and threads on Scotland appear to get a lot more traffic and more people from England expressing an interest in heading up, are skiers in the UK more snobby/anti-Scottish/wedded to the once a year alpine holiday or the single Euro resort or something? 
Anyway, here's some more photos from a few days ago, this time on the Highland Instinct website - lovely!
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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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Ok, sold on Scotland.
Where to go, how to get there, where to stay?
I want high altitude resort with classic alpine charm, glacier for snow surety and great apres ski, have young kids so chalet with in house childcare would be good, chalet in beautiful location but ski in/out...any ideas?
Seriously though, recommend a lively cheap hotel near to a lift (dont ask for much!)...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| martski wrote: |
| Ok, sold on Scotland. |
Oh yeah 
At the moment Glencoe and/or Nevis - they're just down the road from each other.
Fly to Glasgow/Inverness, drive, or from London get the overnight sleeper.
Lots of accommodation here and here for the west
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| I want high altitude resort with classic alpine charm |
You can have a low altitude towns and villages with lots of Scottish charm instead 
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| glacier for snow surety |
That counts out most of the alps and North America then but there are usually year round snow patches in the Cairngorms, Nevis and elsewhere - you have to hike to them though
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| and great apres ski, |
Do you like whisky, great pubs and good local ale?
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| have young kids so chalet with in house childcare would be good |
I believe some of the hotels provide that sort of thing (I have young kids too actually and much though it pains me it has to be said that the Alps do cater for them far better).
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| chalet in beautiful location |
You'd be hard pressed to find a location in the highlands that wasn't beautiful but I'm open to suggestions...
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| but ski in/out...any ideas? |
Like many resorts in NA ski in ski out isn't really available but there are great places to stay a short drive or ski bus ride away.
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| Seriously though, recommend a lively cheap hotel near to a lift (dont ask for much!)... |
Last time I was up in Aviemore I stayed at the Loch Insch Watersports and activity centre - real alpine feel to it actually and fantastic breakfast, there are loads of places on the sites I mentioned above for the west - Burnbank Lodges, The Ballachulish Hotel, The Corran Bunkhouse, The Chase the Wild Goose Bunkhouse and The Bank Street Lodge all come recommended and represent a fair cross section of prices and varying levels of comfort.
Don't get me wrong I'd never recommended that anyone skips an alpine holiday in favour of a planned week in Scotland but for a speculative short trip when the conditions are right (as they tend to be late season and definitely are at the moment) it's well worth consideration. It's definitely a walk on the wild side, and IMHO you'll enjoy it most if you have the ability and experience for whatever gets thrown at you but I've rarely felt the same warm glow elsewhere after a day on the slopes that I feel after being on the Scottish hills. Rarely in the Alps, the closest is probably in the USA where they're also hardy enough to enjoy all that mother nature throws at them and they'll be running for the lifts in the middle of a storm and a whiteout with wild winds almost blowing them over and still enjoying themselves. Mind you it's the blue sky powder days in between that really cement it over there and there seem to be a few up west in Scotland at the moment too
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