 Poster: A snowHead
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well the plan was to drive up very early doors saturday morning, ski all day saturday, stay at spittal of glenshee hotel, ski half day sunday then drive home. Didnt work out like that.
Sugar and ice is not my idea of skiing anymore, i have skied many seasons at glenshee in the 90's and enjoyed it at the time but now it just didnt float my boat. Went to hotel at around 2.30pm, checked in, 3pm checked out. What a shithole. How the F can they charge. 55 notes to stay in that dump. Just drove back home instead, was back by 7.15.
Oh well rose tinted glasses firmly into the back of the ski cupboard now.
And before anyone says i dont understand scottish skiing, i had a season ticket at glenshee for around a decade. Its just not what i want anymore. Really glad i went yesterday though, now i know what i have been missing..............not a lot
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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 stayed in the Spittal of Glenshee hotel in January and, yes, it's a bit of a dump. However we only paid £15 between two of us for B&B so I wasn't really expecting much else.
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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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A bit of a dump, your being too kind about it. We where still laughing about how bad it was as we reached the motorway
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Our room was pretty grim (clean but desperately in need of refurbishment) but the breakfast wasn't bad!
I can drive there from home in a little over an hour so it's not an area I'd normally be looking for accomodation in anyway. Only did it to see what it was like thanks to a groupon deal (I think, might have been one of the others).
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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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graeme, I was up at Glenshee last weekend, and the snow conditions then were a lot better than you experienced this weekend. Admittedly the visibility was poor on the Saturday and most of the Sunday, but the Monday was blue sky and sunshine and it was one of the most enjoyable days skiing in Scotland I've experienced.
I think the Spittal of Glenshee hotel changed owners a few years back, so I'm not surprised by your assessment. I stayed in Braemar at the Braemar Lodge and had a nice room with en suite, free wifi and a good cooked breakfast for £35 per night, so there are reasonable places to stay around there.
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Alastair Pink, been in better hostels than the spittal. Couldnt be arsed looking for another hotel on saturday, snow conditions where not good enough to keep me there on the sunday
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As a rule of thumb these days, before I hit the button on any accomadation booking I check the reviews on Trip Adviser or Booking.com that way you can generally avoid nasty shocks. There are quite a few options not quite as near to the slopes that provide a far more pleasant experience and if you know where to go you can eat very well in that area in the evening. I am a little biased towards Glenshee as when I was 10 we had our first family ski-ing holiday there and that was my first introduction to this fantastic sport of ours. Scottish ski-ing can be a bit hit and miss but when you hit it on a high you can have some great days on the hill, with the benefit of the internet you can study the weather data and make an informed decision. I have since skied all over the world but in the right conditions you can have fun in your own back yard so to speak. Sir Chris Bonnington has commented very much in this vein in his mountaineering lectures and despite climbing trips to every corner of the globe he lives in the Lake District and still loves to climb there. Some of the better skiers I have skied with have generally come from Scotland as they get more days on the hill over the season and these guys that I have met really can ski in all conditions and all types of snow including breakable crust. Yep Scotland is no Zermatt or Alagna but you can still have fun up there - I just wished I lived a bit nearer than 5 hours South. I think with Scotland the old adage "fail to plan, prepare to fail" can sometimes be appropriate. 
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so did you make it to the slopes or not?
The spittal looks a dump for sure, your own fault booking it before checking it out
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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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geeo, looks like he skied till early afternoon then baled to the hotel
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Sorry you had a duff trip.
As said, tripadvisor is required reading before going anywhere these days.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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graeme,
Jeeez, man it's not that bad. Time and time again people slate skiing in Scotland but I don't know why? Were you expecting Verbier? Lake Louise? It's sad you had a duff time but it's not Glenshee's fault you stayed in a crap hotel, there are some good hotels in Blairgowrie and Braemar which are both under 30 mins away......AND you pay in pounds and the Telly is in Scottish!!
I happen to love skiing in Scotland, it also has the benefit of allowing local people who may not have the means to travel abroad to become skiers and boarders, as well as allowing kids from perhaps the more challenging areas of Scotland's cities - Dundee, Glasgow, Aberdeen etc to experience OUR sport: without Scottish resorts they would NEVER get the chance to get out into the mountains and become Skiers/Boarders. Their experience differs dramatically from yours.
From a personal point of you, my family always have a great time up in Glenshee and the (sometimes) bad weather is good for the kids to see it's not always perfect and to be blunt, my 5 year old has NEVER complained about the conditions being too icey or too slushy...he is too busy having fun.
My granny used to have a saying when one of her grandchildren were 'greetin and moanin and generally showing signs of being a wimp, she used to say "mind you dinnae rip your tights, Jessie" and having read your O/P, you should heed her advice.
Please give it another go as it looks like more snow is coming next week 
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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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| graeme wrote: |
| Sugar and ice is not my idea of skiing anymore |
A look at SAIS, MWIS or looking at a report or two on winterhighland would have told you the snow was going to be bulletproof anywhere in the Scottish mountains. It has been an awesome weekend for climbers though.
| graeme wrote: |
| i have skied many seasons at glenshee in the 90's and enjoyed it at the time but now it just didnt float my boat. |
I don't believe you skied all those seasons at Glenshee on just sugar and ice.
| graeme wrote: |
| Really glad i went yesterday though, now i know what i have been missing..............not a lot |
So you've surmised all of present day Scottish skiing based on an outing to a bulletproof Glenshee yesterday and a crap experience with a local hotel.
| graeme wrote: |
| And before anyone says i dont understand scottish skiing, i had a season ticket at glenshee for around a decade. Its just not what i want anymore. |
I get the impression that you don't understand Scottish skiing very well at all. If you did though, you'd have learned that West is very often best and that it's worth choosing when and where to ski.
Incidentally, how many days have you spent skiing through the backs @ Nevis Range, heading off of Cairngorm's summit and into its adjacent coires or exploring say all the ways down the East Ridge at Glencoe ? Or have you mostly skied at Glenshee because that's where you had your season ticket ...
PS. I have an all area Scottish season pass and decided to stay at home this weekend. 
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| Quote: |
"mind you dinnae rip your tights, Jessie"
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This. Best Sh's quote ever, btw.
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You know it makes sense.
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Should have went to Aviemore...Hilton Coylumbridge £50 DBB ski at Cairngorm or Lecht if stormbound. Also Macdonald Highlland Resort does great deals.
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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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moffatross, I went to Glenshee as that's where I was once based/working. Have skied all Scottish resorts at some point during that time but always preferred Glenshee as I knew it inside out. This weekend was only chance to get away skiing so had to take whatever conditions Glenshee had. Have experienced many conditions in Scottish skiing from sideways rain to bluebird days. For me now Scotland just isn't worth the risk, limited time means I cant go when conditions are perfect., I might not he able to take that day off.
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Poster: A snowHead
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davidhammy, Your Granny is always right  - what a character no doubt.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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As Alastair Pink says last Monday at Glenshee was great - sun and blue sky , relatively warm , and much to our surprise no lift queues even tho' it was one of the English half terms. Only bad parts were my decision to ski off piste back to the car on what I know now but did not then was slabs of ice ( I wondered why no-one else was on it ) .
Second bad part was the food in the cafe - very poor - mould on in date sandwiches , burnt pies , and it seemed nothing actually made there.
Then 2 days at the Lecht. My 11 year old wanted snowboard lessons . I had thought about France or elsewhere in Europe but went to Scotland as I thought ( hoped ) the tuition would be good. And it was - a young bloke called Joe taught Ella and she loved the lessons and I could not get her off the hill - she practised and practised before each lesson, even in the tight ripping wind we had on Wed.
I do not think she could have got better lessons on open uncrowded pistes anywhere at half term better than the Lecht.
And the food was good - simple stuff - home made lentil soup , chilli con carne etc.
As others have said skiing in Scotland can be a bit of an endurance test ( we have had days like that ) but it can be excellent .
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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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graeme, it would be more enjoyable on real skis.
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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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Alans deep bath, almost on them. Wss on spruce sherpa 130's this time.
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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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graeme, Glenshee packs in more punters per mile but also relies more on fences and pistes than Glencoe, Cairngorm and Nevis do so its snow gets packed hard. It's also relatively low and sunnier compared to the other three so gets quicker freeze-thaw-freeze cycles too. Glencoe, Nevis and Cairngorm also each have large, pretty reliable expanses of natural snow to play on and I know that wouldn't have been much use yesterday because everywhere was bulletproof but you would be surprised at the off-piste opportunities at each of those other areas when the snow is lush.
I'm almost certain that you haven't skied enough at those other areas to be aware of what's on offer but honestly, you'll be far more likely anywhere in Scotland but Glenshee or Lecht to have fun on fat ski boards.
Do you still have a set with skins and touring bindings ? I'd be happy to show you around if you fancy it. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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moffatross, prob been to glencoe nevis and gorm a handful of times. The lecht a lot more as it was always the alternative when glenshee was poor.
Been a while since last had touring set up. You bought my last set up. Looking to put new bindings on the sherpas though, what would be the best option now?
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graeme, Dynafits (that's what I use now) or Plums if you're starting from scratch again but you'll need boots with Tech fittings of course. There are some newer lower stack height touring bindings than Fritschis around now which are compatible with regular Alpine boots but I've not been paying much attention to them. Of course, with the lighter weight of the boards, you'd get away with the heavier duty Markers (Dukes or Barons) too, still be racing up the hill and have a binding that was to all intents/purposes perfectly Alpine traditionalist for the downhill.
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Nostalgia is a face plant in any depth given a blackout, we smile and brush off, and ski on quids in.
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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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I was at Glenshee on Friday 7 Feb, conditions were near perfect, well groomed good condition snow with occasional sunshine and generally good visibility. I have skied in sh*te snow in Mayrfofen, Tigne, Sauze, and many other resorts, you can't base an opinion on a half day's skiing in 10 Years!!
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I ended up at Glenshee on Saturday after sacking off the plan to go kayaking.
Ski'd pretty much the whole area that was open, while some slopes were pretty horrible there was some decent snow to be found. Our whole group had a great day even if we were in a weird mix of kayaking and skiing gear, dry suits, dry trousers and neoprene trousers were the order of the day... we still managed to have fun
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Skiied Glenshee today - absolutely brilliant. Wall to wall blue sky, and the pisteurs had been out overnight turning the pistes into motorways!
The Glas Maol side was better than Cairnwell (although the black run down the gully was "interesting" with a mix of boiler plate and soft snow - and the run down beside the poma didn't half rattle my fillings). Cairnwell side softened up a bit as the day wore on.
Couldn't have asked for better - other than a foot of powder ! If I have a couple of days as nice in Iscghl next week I'll be delighted.
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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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| DaveMcSki wrote: |
| Quote: |
"mind you dinnae rip your tights, Jessie"
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This. Best Sh's quote ever, btw. |
+1 TGR May have MTFU we now have MYDRYTJ
Cheers davidhammy's granny
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I was up Glenshee on Sunday and had my most enjoyable days skiing this year - and I've been to Verbier and Avoriaz. I thought conditions were good in the main, the sun came out and I think the longest queue we had was 5 people. I agree with Deerman that Glas Maol was better Cairnwell although it softened up as the day progressed. 1hr 45 mins from home, cost £80 for the 4 of us and we had an absolute blast. If you half knew what to expect - ie 'interesting' Pomas and shortish runs - I cant see how anybody could have conceivably been disappointed.
The Spittal looks an absolute total dump however - agreed.
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You know it makes sense.
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Fifespud, the Spittal does a very good Haggis and Cheese toastie. I'm not surprised that it's struggling though, much like most of the other old pubs & hotels miles from anywhere in Scotland, with the impact of oil prices for heating it, petrol prices for punters getting there from Blair and other nearby locations, drink/driving enforcements etc, etc, it's a wonder many of them survive at all.
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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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Yup, back there on Monday (yesterday) with the youngest wee one who has just turned 5 and if you could hear him actually shouting "wooo hooo" (to himself as he thought I couldn't hear him) as he used the poma on Claybokie ALL BY HIMSELF!! then you would be convinced that, despite it's obvious failings, Glenshee when the weather is good and the sun is shining is a great place to go skiing.....all for under £80 for all of us including packed lunches and juice in the Tesco in Blairgowrie.
AND I can confirm that no tights were harmed in the making of our day out
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