 Poster: A snowHead
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With the success of the Glenshee trip last year by hire car, I decided to start the new season with a bang and get a hire car again.
I hired a car from between 15/12/11 - 19/12/11
Car hire, bus fares, petrol, lift passes, coffees, and screen wash = £223.40 (I have all my own ski kit, and took no paid instruction)
That worked out at £74.47 for each day on the piste. Of course I used the car for some shopping as well, but that is incidental and not really significant.
This is cheaper than the Glenshee trip which cost £107 per day. The main difference in cost is probably due to the splitting of the extra day car hire between 3 days (I have to get the car half a day before the first ski day, and return the car 1/2 a day later). Also car hire was cheaper over the weekend than on week days, and it was a weekday last year.
The weather: On 16/12/11 the first day of opening at Glencoe the weather was fantastic. The snow was in great condition. Unfortunately due to the winds which preceeded the opening, the plateau poma was not running so I had to walk up from the access chairlift to cliffhanger. That took about 5-10 minutes, and I did not do it more than twice. There were very few people there on 16/12/11 and so there were no lift queues at all really, even though all the lifts were not running.
Memorable moments: Watching two inexperienced bladers sliding down the access run head first with a skier charging ahead of them so they could crash into him! Lessons I learned then, don't take blades down narrow icy routes. (I don't have any blades, and that experience put me off)
On 17/12/11 the first day of opening at Nevis Range the weather was calm, with no wind. There was sunshine early on, and there was loads of snow everywhere particularly on the Goose. I kept getting on the Goose T bar with people wearing fat skis, so the lift conversation tended to dwell on skiing technique for skiing in powder.
On the Goose I was practicing jumping out of turns, so that in deeper powder I would not get my tips jammed in the snow and then pile in after them. At the edge of the Goose I thought it was all powdery stuff, but it was not there was some piles of ice. When the weather got worse later in the day, I could not really see very well, and drifted into this ice covered in fresh. Both tips of my skis lodged in the ice. Both rear release catches released, and I went flying for a few seconds before ending face first in the snow.
Most enjoyable skiing was had on the Goose that day. The summit was closed early on due to the lift, but opened for a short while. It then closed again as this cloud which just hung there all day, did not move. Then it started snowing again! As if there was not enough snow there already!
On 18/12/11 I decided to return to Glencoe, as I saw more snow falling the day before on the way to Nevis Range. I spent the morning when the weather was best, going up and down the Access area on and off piste. I had the opportunity to test out some the practicing I was doing the day before on the Goose, with some deep powder under the Access chairlift. I have not been convinced that I need a pair of fat skis yet...
The weather turned bad in the afternoon, with bad visibility, and some increase in wind. You could still ski, but it was not so enjoyable.
Traffic getting there was easy on the first day, with clear roads and no weather issues. The second day there was snow falling on Rannoch Moor, and there was black ice warnings regularly. I had a slight skid when I was traveling up the road to the Nevis Range car park, where I hit a big pile of slush in the middle of the road and kind of drifted a little for a second. No other traffic was around, and I did not try to correct the skid I just carried on. The third day was again full of black ice warnings, and I had run out of screen wash. However, there were no incidents that I was involved in. (I did see an overturned car on the way to Nevis Range though)
One weeks skiing for £521 (=£74.47 x 7) is the new yardstick! I have seen some offers in that range recently for Europe, however that is just for accommodation, transfers, and flights. You have to pay for lift passes, transport to and from airport, and ski carriage.
I do not think it can be beaten on price, however the service of the coffee is better!
464 miles done in one hire car, and 5 miles done in the original car which I returned as the two front tyres were low in tread. (as well as the brakes feeling like the pads were low, or the discs were covered in rust: I think the clutch was about to go soon too!) I took it to Kwik fit who said one of the front tyres was not legal at the edges. To be fair ATS had a look at the other tyre and said the gash in the wall was fine, which Kwik fit said too. The ATS guy obviously never checked the tread levels. (the original problem I spotted was only the gash in the tyre wall, which was obviously correctly diagnosed as not a problem)
I did not give the hire car company enough advance notice of the car request (only 2-4 hours), so perhaps that is why a car which had not been used for a while was originally offered. They made no fuss when I brought the car back and said the drivers side tyre may not be legal, and swapped cars rather than made me wait for the tyre to be replaced.
That makes it 27.6p per mile for the hire car including fuel (which beats last years 35p per mile). 12.4p per mile for the fuel alone! Fairly good value....?
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Tue 31-01-12 23:05; edited 3 times in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Bigtipper - Did you sleep in the hire car  ? What did you do for accommodation?
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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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mountainaddict, I saw some people in a tent in Rannoch Moor. Also there was a few camper vans in Glencoe, as well as the hobbit houses. However. it was cheaper, and more convenient (I had not decided yet which resort I was going to the next day: it depended on the weather) to just drive there each day.
I was thinking about going to Aviemore or Glenshee on the Sunday, but decided that due to the recent snowfall and the wind forecast, that Glencoe would be the best option. I need to keep my options open, as the weather forecast can change at the very last moment (i.e. first thing in the morning)
The weather forecast for Glencoe on Sunday was clear skies until the afternoon. I got there for the first lift up, and the forecast was correct. Sunday morning had great weather at Glencoe.
As I age, I find cold weather camping does not allow my muscles to heal properly. I need my shiatsu back massage machine, and electric blanket to help heal for the next day!
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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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Bigtipper,
Great value skiing but I guess you don't live 'darn sarf' 
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I see lots of offers, none of them seem to be the price I am quoted. If I had 3 children which I was paying for, then maybe I would get the deals offered. As it is 3 other people have 3 different opinions, making it virtually impossible to get agreement and co-ordination of 3 people who will pay separately.
If you need a decision, you can make your own decision, but 3 other people cannot make a decision which agrees.
That means you end up with a compromise, which means no decision.
Maybe if you were 17 it would be easier to find 3 people to do what you decide!
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Bigtipper, Did a week in Milky Way based in Sauze d'Oulx last Feb for £490 including petrol to airport, parking, flights, transfers, b&B accom, 6 + half days ski pass. Snow was excellent. Proper good value holiday
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For comparison shouldn't it be £74.47 x 6 = £446.82? A weeks ski package holiday invariably means just 6 days on the mountain.
Also to ski Glencoe, Nevis, Glencoe you drove 464 miles which means roughly a 65mi trip to Glencoe and a 100mi to Nevis. If you'd just done Home>Glencoe>FW overnight>Nevis>FW overnight again> Glencoe> Home - that would be just 100mi, saving 364mi. At 12.4p/mi that is about £45. You could stay in FW and treat yourself to a meal at a restaurant or a nice bottle of wine, both nights (but not both, both nights) for that amount. So a local home is not required. Having some company (or your own car) will reduce the bills further. Going with 3 others would quarter the car hire costs, which by my reckoning off your figures, knocks off £100 per person. A round trip from Exeter at 12.4p/mi would only cost just over £100.
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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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what...snow, Sure adding other people in the car reduces your costs if they are paying. Not if they are freeloaders. Then you have to consider who will drive, and that often will cause both disagreement and extra person insurance costs.
You will need a bigger car. You need more space to carry all your kit, and their kit, as well as the extra people.
That means a more expensive hire car, and consequently higher fuel costs. Perhaps a roof rack, or trailer. More clumsy to drive.
You could stay overnight, and that might break even on the marginal petrol costs, but it allows no flexibility in making a decision regarding where you go the next day. By staying overnight you will fix your plans for the next day.
What if the weather is crap the next day? You might decide to do nothing, and that would save on the return petrol costs.
Unless all four people going on the trip live in the same location, you have a logistics issue getting them all to the start point which costs money.
Often flights abroad will be very cheap from Manchester or London. Very helpful if you live close to these airports. Not so helpful if it costs you £200 return trip to the airport!
You are right, 6 days should be the comparative rather than 7. Or maybe even 3 days for a weekend ski trip.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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what...snow, I make it 52 miles to Glencoe, and 87 miles to Nevis range. You did not allow for other mileage done than just driving to ski stations.
I think Glenshee is about 80 miles away from last years figures, but you cannot drive as fast on some of the B roads.
Aviemore is further, more like 100 miles away, but the roads are better.
Obviously on fuel costs Glencoe is £8 cheaper than Nevis range or Glenshee, and that can often tip the balance if the weather conditions are similar.
However, variety is the spice of life!
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FAQ
