•Glencoe Sledge Park

•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Peak Half Term - Limited on mountain hire availability left

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

With Half Term in full swing on mountain hire is extremely busy. Do not rely on hiring on mountain, unless you have pre-booked. Please be aware that Nevis Range has no operating equipment hire.

With an uncertain forecast, but risk of mild / wet / windy weather this weekend, do not miss out on the next 2 to 3 days. Does not matter where you pick, just go. CairnGorm will release more tickets for purchase at the ticket office for those with their own equipment on Tuesday and Wednesday. Parking is likely to be in the Ciste by 9am!

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

At update the A939 Lecht Pass snow gates were closed, while the A93 Cairnwell Pass was open. Storm Force wind on the Cairnwell summit, so significant drifting likely near the top. Some heavy snow showers affecting CairnGorm at update. Check www.snowgatecameras.co.uk for real time updates on the A93 and A939.

Glencoe has seen between 23 and 28cm of snow since Saturday, with around 5 to 7cm today. Some further snow showers tonight with significant drifting on a strong NW will further improve the Plateau area runs which have been transformed over the past 48hours. There is now great riding for all ability levels at Glencoe, with most of the Plateau runs now fairly wide, with options to go either side of the single fences on Rankins Return and the Low Road, both of which were giving really sweet mellow angled turns on Monday afternoon. Today was by far the best condition the Plateau has been in this season, and Mugs Alley from the Cliffhanger is also now in good shape with a variety of alternative lines after the upper traverse. See the photos for a full report. The West is set to have the best of the sunshine as the ridge of high pressure builds in during Tuesday too!

With the wind swinging round to the NW ahead of the approaching ridge, it is the Northern Cairngorms that look to catch the bulk of the clusters of snow showers expected tonight and these will continue into Tuesday AM. CairnGorm has caught somewhere between 10 and 14cm of new snow today, the problem on Monday was seeing it! Tuesday will start in a similar vein, but showers should ease and clouds begin to break up to give sunny spells as pressure rises.

The CairnGorm Funicular is offering 1550ft of non-surface uplift vertical with a mix of green, blue and red terrain accessible from the train. The White Lady, East Lady and M1 RaceTrack are in great shape with spring snow for more experienced riders, and the M2/Daylodge run is a great option from the train for blue terrain skiers / riders.

Glenshee has seen lighter snow showers today, but the changing wind direction has seen speeds on top of the Cairnwell jump up to Storm Force since the 6pm readings below. This will shift some of the loose fresh snow onto aspects that have not caught as much recently, so expecting an improvement in the Butcharts area for example. The big news on Monday was the Caenlochan Poma finally making its season debut for the public, before it through another wobbly! It is however looking set to go on Tuesday. The Meall Odhar Cafe is open at the foot of it, but remember this cafe is cash only! If you need to pay by card head to the Tea at the Shee in the base building or pop into the Cairnwell Restaurant at the top of the Baddoch Chair.

To get the most out of Glenshee you really need to be comfortable with the Pomas, but there should be a decent amount to get at on the Cairnwell side from the Cairnwell Chairlift including the Tiger (black), Thunder Bowl (red), Cairnwell RaceTracks (red + blue) and part of the Bunny Run out into Butcharts Coire.

The Caenlochan Poma opens up the whole face of Meall Odhar including a loop round to Tom Dearg via the Home Run for a lengthy blue. Very often Meall Odhar is an overlooked part of Glenshee, used simply as an access corridor to Coire Fionn, however given the persistent SE wind, there is masses of snow and wind features adding to the naturally varied terrain and the whole Western face of Meall Odhar is going to be one big playground! In many ways this is Glenshees best natural terrain.

At the Lecht the main runs are complete and full width between the fences, there are still some icy patches on the steeper face of the Grouse. The Buzzard side has an extensive wide cover and the nursery slopes by the magic carpets have a great base and are in excellent condition thanks to a refresh from the fan guns overnight.

Nevis Range plan to open the Alpha Button and the Goose T-bar on Tuesday, but note that Nevis will not be open for lift served riding on Wednesday or Thursday. Note, there is NO equipment hire available at Nevis Range and no downhill ski or snowboard hire available in Fort William.

:: 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

All 3 of the Pennine Club Fields were open on Saturday with a fine day under the ridge of high pressure, Weardale and Allenheads also opened on Sunday morning. Both of these definitely need more snow to reopen.

Yad Moss is monitoring weather and temperature for Tuesday, there was a bit more melt than expected on Monday, but it was not a definite no at update.

Over in the Lakes though, some good news, the Lake District Ski Clubs Raise Poma will make its season debut on Tuesday, having previously missed out on the snow that has come persistently from the East or SE.

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 -3.6°c, wind at 28 gusting 46mph. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was -1.9°c. At Base level (366m) it was +0.6°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -6.8°c. The Met Office station was reporting a North Westerly at 23 gusting 29mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was -3.1°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +0.7°c.

In the East the Met Office Summit AWS on CairnGorm reported -7.4°c, with a North Westerly at a mean of 47 gusting 58mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was -0.8°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS reported -6.1°c with a NW wind at a mean of 50 gusting 60mph.

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

We are now in the peak week of February Half Term proper, the busiest days are likely to be up to and including Wednesday, as the main week of English Half Term coincides with a number of more local long weekends.

On-Mountain equipment hire is at or near capacity for several days already, do not expect to hire at the mountain when you arrive without an equipment reservation.

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 still need equipment hire and are unable to secure an advance booking at the mountain, there are options for hiring on route. 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.

Carparks at Glenshee and CairnGorm are likely to reach capacity on peak days, on CairnGorm shuttle buses will operate from Coire na Ciste from around 9am. 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.

With considerably more snow in the East in the build up to Half Term, Glencoe is unlikely to have carpark issues over the next few days, but to keep things organised, larger 4wd vehicles please park in the top carpark above the Ticket Office. 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

This evening further bands of snow showers will come in on a strong North West wind, in parts of the East Highlands these could reach Storm Force for a number of hours overnight. Snow showers will be more scattered overnight in the West with Glencoe and Nevis perhaps picking up another couple of cm, whereas spots in the Northern Cairngorms could pick up somewhere between 5 and 10cm of new snow by morning. Even where not that much new snow falls, the freshening wind from a different direction will create areas of windblown fresh and help fill in areas that had not been catching as much snow in the period of sustained SE winds!

With the NW flow ahead of a building ridge of high pressure, snow showers will continue to come into the Northern Cairngorms on Tuesday morning, but these will fade with more brighter spells developing as the ridge builds Eastwards. In the West Tuesday is looking like a bluebird day with light to moderate NW wind. It will be a cold one with the freezing level down in the glens and between -4 and -6°c at Munro Level.

For Wednesday as the ridge drifts North Eastwards, the winds will flip to be South Easterly and begin to freshen in the afternoon. Though remaining bright, sunshine will become hazier into the afternoon as some higher cloud begins to build in. Generally light to moderate SE wind, around 20 gusting 30mph, but risk gusts to 40 or 45mph Northern Cairngorms and Nevis Range mountains in the afternoon. Glencoe will have the least wind with the direction turning SE. Around -4 to -5°c at Munro Level, freezing at most levels in land.

Thursday looks to be dry with partly cloudy skies, but now with a freshening South Easterly, could see gusts to 50 to 55mph on the Cairngorm Plateau and immediately downslope and through the Nevis Range, so a risk of some lift closure through the day. If the forecast direction holds SE, then Glencoe should have no wind issues on Thursday. Between -3 and -5°c at Munro Level, perhaps lifting a degree or two late afternoon into the evening.

By the end of the week on balance things look to be taking a turn towards much more unsettled and milder, how unsettled, how windy and how much milder are the questions to which there is a broad range of answers across the forecast models and ensembles!

At this stage, snow is now looking more likely for the snowsports areas on Friday, accompanied by Gale or Severe Gale SW wind. This will give blizzard / whiteout conditions at height. Into the night though the freezing level is expected to rise close to or possibly above summits.

At this stage the balance of the model data suggests the FL around the highest summits with a wintry mix on upper slopes and rain at lower elevations of the snowsports areas for Saturday with a strong to Gale SW to South wind. However, the spread encompasses significant snow to heavy rain, moderate wind to a full on storm! For noon on Saturday the GFS ensemble has an 11°c spread, the ECMWF EPS has an 8.5°c spread and the Met Office MOGREPS has a 9.3°c spread.

It looks to be too early to make a call on any weekend plans, so all the more reason to drop any other plans and get up Tuesday or Wednesday if you can, and if you cant manage those days try Thursday!

The days leading up to the 60th Anniversary of Glencoe saw fairly heavy low level snow, several reasonable and cold days with not much wind, only to be replaced by wind and rain by the evening of the 20th with a slushy mess around the Glencoe carpark. Are we about to see a repeat for the 70th Anniversary on Friday?

:: 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.