•Glencoe Sledge Park

•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Peak Half Term - Limited on mountain hire availability left

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

Glencoe celebrated the 70th anniversary of the opening of the original Main Basin Tow on Friday 20th Feb, the fireworks were impressive, alas the weather was just like the 60th - StormBound, mild, wet and windy! Hopefully the 21st is better than in 2016, then the weather was even worse than the 20th!

Been out on the slopes - please send us your photos to the email address at the foot of this page.

Alas for those who took a punt on getting some west coast freshies, it was a complete bust. For Glencoe, the 70th anniversary day was just like the 60th, StormBound, turning milder, wetter and windier through the day! Hopefully the 21st fares better this time, because in 2016 it was an even bigger write off for wind than the 20th was!

There was fairly significant new snow in the West overnight into Friday morning, but those gains have been progressively reversed through the day. By Saturday morning, the Plateau area at Glencoe will have lost snow overall, while further up there should have been a net gain overall over the past 36 hours.

In the East on Friday, CairnGorm was limited to the Carpark and Coire Cas T-bars from the main lifts, plus the magic carpets outside the Daylodge and the Sheiling Tow. Big drifts around the mid-station area were bashed down onto the upper section of the Carpark Run on Thursday, so hopefully this has strengthened the base enough for the lower slopes to get through this mild spell. The M2 / Daylodge route remains the best route to the Cas Carpark. Wind speeds now do not look as bad as they were on Friday, so hopefully more uplift will open further up CairnGorm.

At Glenshee the wind kept the Cairnwell Chairlift and the Caenlochan Poma off on Friday, and wind speeds could still be an issue for some uplift on Saturday. However the drifting has been stopped by the rise in temperature, so that may allow further progress in opening further up and out.

The Lecht had another busy day on Thursday with CairnGorm again closed, but with CairnGorm open for limited snowsports, fewer Scottish Schools on half term and a mild and bit meh of a forecast, things were pretty quiet at the Lecht on Friday. Between the fences the runs remain full width, but there are one or two scrapped patches developing.

On the Buzzard side there remains a wide and deep cover. The beginner magic carpet runs are in good shape.

Nevis Range has been battered by the SE wind over the past couple of days, unfortunately it looks as if the wind has been strong enough to have stripped some of the loose snow out of the Goose rather than add more in. The SAIS reported the Goose to be a mix of icy hardpack and stretches of firm grippy windslab.

:: Glencoe Sledge Park

The Sledge Park at the Plateau Cafe is in excellent condition! It is advisable to arrive before 2pm at the latest for sledging to get a decent amount of time on the hill. First chair up at 9am, the sledge park is always quietest before 11.30am. Last chair down scheduled for 4pm.

:: England Club Fields

The Lake District Ski Clubs Raise Poma made its season debut on Tuesday, having previously missed out on the snow that has come persistently from the East or SE.

Yad Moss despite some thawing on Monday was able to open on Tuesday and Wednesday, but like in Scotland there was no repeat of the blue skies and light winds! No available operators meant the Poma did not run on Thursday and with the forecast for rising temperatures for Friday, more snow will be required for any of the Pennine fields to reopen.

For both Weardale and Allenheads, you need to join the club with a season pass, these are still available for both at this time.

Please check club access rules / availability if not a club member / pass holder.

Weardale: https: //skiweardale.com/ .
Allenheads: http://ski-allenheads.co.uk/ .
Yad Moss: https: //yadmoss.co.uk/ .
Raise: https: //www.ldscsnowski.co.uk/ .

:: Mountain Weather

At 6pm in the West at the Glencoe SSC hut (850m) the temperature was +1.6°c, wind at 26 gusting 76mph. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was +3.3°c. At Base level (366m) it was +5.4°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -0.8°c. The Met Office station was reporting a South wind at 38 gusting 48mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was +3.3°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +7.2°c.

In the East the summit weather stations on CairnGorm reported -1.3°c, with a Westerly at a mean of 52 gusting 70mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was +5.3°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS reported +0.6°c with a Westerly at a mean of 30 gusting 54mph.

:: Peak Half Term - Limited on mountain hire availability left

We are now in the peak week of February Half Term proper, so despite the number of Scottish schools on break reducing on Thursday, on-Mountain equipment hire remains very busy into this weekend. Walk-ins may not be possible, if you can not secure an advance online reservation for the equipment you require from the mountain resort, please hire on route.

Please note that Nevis Range has no operational equipment hire. Glencoe hire opens at 8.30am and allows multi day hires for off site use, this is the only downhill ski and snowboard rental option currently available close to Nevis Range.

If you are travelling from or through Glasgow, try Ski n Board Room. For Glenshee try the Cabin Ski Hire at Bridge of Cally. There are several options in and around Aviemore for CairnGorm, including the Pine Marten Bar on the ski road at Glenmore, immediately after Loch Morlich.

If the road/mountain opens, the Cas Carparks on CairnGorm are likely to reach capacity fairly quickly over the next few days. Please remember that there are currently no facilities at the Ciste Carpark and there may be a wait for the shuttle bus at peak times.

At Glencoe with the exception of Tuesday, there have been no parking issues, with plenty of spare capacity. However to keep things organised, larger 4wd vehicles please park in the top carpark above the Ticket Office and only cars and small vans in the main carpark area. Campervans wishing to stay overnight will find the most level areas around the edge of the overflow carpark.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

Wind speeds are not looking as wild for Saturday as they were, but still blustery enough to affect uplift as the day goes on after an initial lull. Overcast and damp with rain for much of the day in the West, where the Munro Level temperature will rise from +2 to +4°c later in the day.

Sunday now looks windier than Saturday, but there remains uncertainty over timing / detail.

West to southwesterly winds look set to dominate during the week ahead as areas of low pressure move toward northwest Scotland whilst ridges of higher pressure occasionally nudge across southern Britain under a more mobile Atlantic setup.

Sustained gales with only brief lulls. Temperatures will fluctuate above and below freezing on higher Scottish mountains , with freeze / thaw cycling.

The trend for the end of the month is for a cooldown as February draws to a close.

:: Webcams and Weather Stations

Lowther Hill: Leadhills webcam is online (24/7).

GLENCOE: All mountain webcams online and the first updated images are from the Top of the Access Chair are around 6.45am, other cams come on shortly after 7 to 7.15am. Sledge Park camera streams overnight. The mid mountain weather station wind direction is not working, other data valid.