 Poster: A snowHead
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I usually take my son a for a few sessions in Tamworth pre ski season just to get him back into etc (not that he really needs it) and we always have a bit of fun. Was thinking this year of heading up to Scotland as an alternative for a couple of days (late December/early January) as the price of two hours in a snow dome seems to be the same price as a day's pass in a Scottish ski resort.
I know the pit falls of going to Scotland as far as conditions are concerned but is a bad day at a Scottish resort as good as or better than a day at a snow dome. Are we likely to arrange a date to go to Scotland and then find that there are no slopes open? Or do most resorts always have one or two runs open?
Any advice will be appreciated.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I guess it depends on what you're after.
With the snowdome, you have a very limited ski area, but it is a surface of snow/ice, and being indoors, you are protected from the worst of the weather. On the other hand, the views are poor, the skiing bland, and the atmosphere more akin to a shopping mall than a ski resort.
In summary, if you can cope with bad weather and heather, then go to Scotland 
Obviously on a good Scottish day, then there is no contest.
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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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it's pretty rare for none of the resorts to have any runs open as long as the snow is about, with the east/west split the weather can vary a lot and at worst you will have more skiing than the dome but you might get wet, or more likely you will get powder and sun 
best advice is to be flexible around your chosen months and watch the weather, with not much effort 2 days nice skiing will be had.
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Leave the booking until 48 hrs before departure.
Check the weather and the slopes before setting off. In that order.
Take nuff layers.
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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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garethjomo,
Before you visit Scottish resorts always check the sites for lift availability. They are updated daily and even mentioning the snow cover. Just be aware that the description can be similar to an estate agent who never mentions a downturn when there is one but as soon as something picks up he would report the recession has gone.
The web cams are also useful too.
There is a saying in the Scottish mountains "if you can ski in Scotland you can survive elsewhere in the Alps". That implied you will have to cope with wind, horizontal snow, rock, grass, ice, water etc... However on a sunny day and with snow cover no snowdome beats a Scottish resort.
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But even in the bottom picture you still have top to bottom skiing at Cairngorm - with a complete White Lady run and 105 and Cas. Got to be miles better than a fridge. Ptarmigan bowl is likely to be good aswell - though the vis may not be much going by he cloud levels. With there being so much snow only three days earlier the Ciste gulley, Aonach bowl and M2 may also have been skiable.
I know what you mean about the unpredicatbilty though.
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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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Don't make a decision till just before. It is always possible to find B& B at the last minute in winter and if there is no snow in Scotland the domes are always with us.
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| kitenski wrote: |
the trouble with scotland is the unpredictability, on a good day it's superb, on a bad day you'll be sat in the pub....
eg This pic was taken on Friday 1st March 2002
This was 3 days later
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While there is no doubt the top picture looks much more pretty than the second, there was as it happens little change in the skiable terrain between the two. The first photo was basically the same base as you see in the second with a covering of fresh snow, the second photo still offers 1700ft of vertical descent and a selection of green, blue and red runs. Having had a peek in the Pix from the Slopes on Winterhighland, the Ciste Gully was indeed open at that time of the second photo, so was the Aonach Bowl.
I almost dare not use the word cosmetic after CML's infamous 'Cosmetic Snow' debacle last October, but meaningful snow cover tends to focus in on the gullies, natural snow fields and the fences - leaving a much thinner and cosmetic cover on open hill sides. The majority of the snow skied on the main ski runs doesn't get there from the sky directly, but from drifting in from another part of the mountain - Conditions can markedly improve overnight a week or more since the last snow fall if it remains cold and there is suddenly a Southerly wind to blow snow of the Plateau into the Ski Area!
The result of this is that milder conditions rapidly strip the cosmetic cover from exposed wind scoured open hill-sides, making it look like there has been dramatic loss, when there has in actual fact been only minor damage to the principle ski runs. You may hit the jackpot and get a substantial snow fall in light winds making vast tracts of off-piste ridable.
I've often heard in Aviemore people saying in similar conditions to the two photos above, we didn't bother going up, it's obvious there's hardly any snow left - just narrow strips. Some of those strips visible from Aviemore though will be several times the width of a Snowdome!
It is one of the subtleties about skiing in an oceanic maritime climate!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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A little birdie has told me that there will be 'National 4 day voucher' books available for Scotland this winter - each voucher will be exchangeable for one day ticket at any of the five Scottish Snowsport Areas.
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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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I think it should be a mandatory part of becoming a British skier to serve some time in Scotland. On its day, like in snowball's photo, it compares with anywhere in the world, and even if you've only tested your waterproofs in a horizontal hurricane force sleet storm, followed by a totally fogged out descent where your eyes and inner ear combine to defy any notion of you staying upright , at least the whisky & the pints of heavy taste good.
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For me a day on the hills will ALWAYS beat the snowdome. I used to quite like the snowdome but found it really boring the last few times I went, so much so that I haven't been at all this year. Even if only 1 run is open I always find it enjoyable enough to spend a whole day. The pistes are generally not uniform so every run really can be different depending on the line you take. My last day this year was in April at Cairngorm when only the top basin was open, a pretty flat, tame run but it was gorgeous sunshine and lovely soft spring snow so we all just tried different things like skiing or boarding switch.
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You know it makes sense.
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lynseyf, I completely agree, but obviously as a southerner it requires good snow conditions to get me all the way up there. That should include back bowl and/or off piste skiing as far as I am concerned. For that I'm prepared to skin a bit.
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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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Why not save the money, and had a few days onto your main holiday!
Skiing in Scotland is great if you can decide the day before if you're going and drive there. BUt if you live in Swansea and decide 48 hours before you will either have to drive - which is a huge waste of time, or fly and flights will at that late stage be expensive.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I agree with fatbob, if you don't ski in Scotland you can never appreciate how good the alps are 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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last minute road trip for me...
but timing is all as I could get the alpes as quick..
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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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snowball, I agree with you completely, not sure if I would drive up if I lived in the south. However if I was going to spend a reasonable amount of money at the snowdome then I would rather put it towards a weekend in Scotland as for me Scotland at its worst is always better. Just noticed the OP is thinking end December/start January. That probably isn't the best time. Look at the pics on winterhighland for these dates here http://www.winterhighland.info/pix/pixalbum.php?pix_id=554 and the Snowcover is never that good. The first week in March is probably a safe bet for fantastic snow in Scotland ( I have been on holiday then for the last 3 years  and have booked it again for this year and its been great every year in the Scotland)
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Not on average the best time I agree but certainly not never that good. One of my best days ever in Scotland was in December and I have had a lot of decent skiing in Jan.
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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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Yes, some winters there has been no skiable snow till mid February. March is the most reliable. I hope to get in a late season weekend up there but I'll be at Andermatt the saturdays of 20th and 27th March.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Mon 19-10-09 13:17; edited 1 time in total
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One of my best days skiing was in Scotland and I spent last season in Val D... It was a 6 hour 'adventure' drive to get there from Edinburgh right enough but by christ it was worth it!
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paulmclean85, Glenshee? Massive tailbacks in February?
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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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arv, never got round to skiing Glenshee or Lecht actually which is weird considering they're the closest to me. The 6 hours were spent battling through snow on the A9 with 3 uni mates, a knackered old car and an even more knackered snow shovel. You definitely miss out on that in your shopping centre fridges We pretty much had the 'Gorm and knee deep powder to ourselves though.
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Great photos!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| snowball wrote: |
| Great photos! |
Thanks!
Incidentally, the weekend before we were there, an avalanche had come down that innocuous looking gully behind the hut and killed two (or possibly three - I forget) walkers.
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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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After reading the posts I dont think I'll plan a trip to scotland but if when I'm off the snow is good i may drive up and check it out. How easy is accomodation to come by?
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| Quote: |
How easy is accomodation to come by?
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Depends when - but in the winter I've always managed to get a nights B&B at Glenmore Lodge when I've wanted just by turning up on the day.
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You know it makes sense.
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Fort William has always been easy when I've been to Nevis, my favourite area. (See my Nevis report)
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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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| Quote: |
After reading the posts I dont think I'll plan a trip to scotland but if when I'm off the snow is good i may drive up and check it out. How easy is accomodation to come by?
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Don't think it's ever a problem as long as you have a book with plenty of phone numbers in it & are flexible. Last winter we had such a great day that I got on the phone in the car park at 5pm (on a sat) & had the beds booked in 1/2 an hour. That was probably as busy as it ever gets so ended up in Newtonmore rather than Aviemore but it was no problem (we were coming from Nevis anyway). Around FW is probably easier but fewer accom options near Glenshee (just Spittal or Braemar) or Glencoe (Clachaig, Kingshouse or Bridge of Orchy but plenty on the way to Nevis). Don't rely on getting internet/phone from every skicentre carpark though - they are at the base of a mountain!
It was a bit better than a snowdome (4000ft vert descent that day at Nevis, nearly 2000 the next day at Cairngorm):
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/neil2829/Nevis7thFeb2009#slideshow/5301161662860148866
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/neil2829/Cairngorm8thFeb2009#5301162553080963394
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Poster: A snowHead
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Snowdomes are much more like real ski resorts because they provide 'designer skiwear' shops, themed bars and pizza piazzas for poseurs and muppets to congregate around groomed gentle slopes. If Glencoe's original planners had had the foresight to enclose the plateau poma in a big refrigerator and invited Coffee Republic, EB and Pizza Hut to open franchises at the top of the access chair, they wouldn't be in the poop they're in now.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Even on a poort day I found better skiing on a hill than in a fridge.
If the snow is extremely patch, consider hiring ski blades to hop over heathers/small burns 
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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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| Quote: |
is a bad day at a Scottish resort as good as or better than a day at a snow dome.
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No.
And it's a very long way from Swansea....
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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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moffatross, I don't know about that.... my worst day on a Scottish mountain all the lifts were closed by high winds early in the morning and having climbed up a bit for "one last go" I fell and boogered my knee ligaments which have never been the same since. Then waiting for a loooong ride in a coach to East Kilbride, nursing the knee, and a very painful drive to my home in Ayrshire.
Yes, I concede it wasn't dull. And limping back to the coach in Blairgowrie hugging a warm parcel of cod and chips, in the remains of the gale which had closed the lifts, was one of those moments of bleak and masochistic Scottish poetry.
A good day in a snowdome CAN be had if you sign up for one of the coaching days run by rob@rar and skimottaret. Though Hemel doesn't do cod and chips.
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pam w, Similar to my one and only trip, set off very early on Sat morning, got to the base of Glenshee for lunchtime, skied the afternoon. I can honestly say that I have never experienced an icy cold biting wind quite like the one at Glenshee, my wife who after all is a girl was actually crying. The slopes were also in poor conditions and due to prevailing conditions I thought it wise to stick to the piste.
Sat night was much more agreeable, we stopped at the Bridge of Callay Hotel had a very nice meal and got very merry on the fine selection of malts available. Sun morning we were advised at breakfast table that the road was closed, due to the amount of snowfall they had during the night, I presumed they would get it open by lunch, my presumption was wrong !!. So spent the rest of Sun propping up the bar with the locals and have to say that I wasn't disappointed.
I have been up Scotland working many times since and thrown my gear in the back of the car, just in case conditions etc were good at the end of my working week. When I have checked on the net they never have been, so I have never been tempted to return.
OTH fridges bore me rigid, I go once a year and that is only because the OH wants a few hours practice before her impending ski trip. My kids go to the freestyle nights which I suppose are fun if you are into that kind of thing, I enjoy watching them.
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| moffatross wrote: |
In comparison to a mountain, there is no such thing as a good 'day' at a snow dome ... an hour is dull enough.  |
If you're using an indoor slope in the same way as you use a mountain you're setting yourself up for a tedious experience. But if you view an indoor slope as a training facility where you can work on technique then you can have enjoyable and challenging days. An hour just isn't enough time under those circumstances.
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There is a recurring theme in these threads of 'I've skied Scotland once and iit's cr*p' You could go to any ski area in the world and have a crap weather / conditions. Hell I went have way round the world to South Lake Tahoe in March and it pissed rain in South Lake Tahoe for 72hours straight (48hours up to the top of Heavenly) - I swear I have never got as wet in all my life on CairnGorm as that Monday at Heavenly. Tahoe skiing must be crap?
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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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when you see the standard some racers and freestylers can achieve on plastic (let alone in a fridge) the usefulness of those facilities can hardly be questioned. I wouldn't bother just for recreational skiing.
Kel, the malts do help to make up for it. I've spent sailing days in Scotland having doubled up all my mooring warps (remembering to check and shift them every couple of hours because of potential chafe) and then scurried to the nearest hostelry. I love Scotland, but we did once have gales from 3 different points of the compass in one week. Fortunately the coastline is designed in such a way that it was easy to find shelter from all of them, and the nearest pub was never far away. All the hotels near boats also provided hot baths to cold and smelly sailors.
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pam w, rob@rar, I get your point and I'm sure there's a lot of value in it if that's the only snow you're able to get to in your own locale but for me, I think spending a day doing technical drills in a fridge would turn me off the sport. It's hard for me to visualise what would motivate me to take up golf but likewise, if I did play, the idea of spending an evening at a driving range, banging a few hundred balls at the floodlights would just crush my spirit.
I think some of us don't really appreciate how spoilt we are though. I see my skiing in Scotland increasingly as not just 'a bit of practice' but as the mainstay of the season. I may get a couple of (reasonably) snowsure weeks in at the Alps every year but I get another three weeks or so here in Scotland and I can choose my days so that they fit around my work schedule and the children's weekends and holidays. I've never felt the motivation to ski out of season either and when I watch the folk practising year around on Hillend's plastic mountain on the outskirts of Edinburgh I shake my head in wonderment. 
Winterhighland, likewise, I can tot up the hours into days not skiing in Austria and the USA while watching sorry looking hardy types taking chairlifts up into the pi55ing down icy rain. It's not always going to be perfect but that's the hazard of not skiing in a man-made environment.
Elizabeth B, your comment "... being indoors, you are protected from the worst of the weather." made me chuckle. 
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