•Glencoe Sledge Park

•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

It is the Glencoe Gathering weekend - Join the hangover shred at the Plateau Cafe rail park on Sunday from 10am!

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

Saturday was the day of the weekend for the overhead, but alas the ridge of high pressure that gave us a fine day is slipping away and it will be a more unsettled day for the start of meteorological spring on Sunday.

However, the worst of the weather that was expected to move in during Sunday, now looks to be delayed somewhat, with the worst wind / rain arriving into the evening. While Saturday had the overhead, it also had pretty hard surface conditions for the most part, the freezing level lifting on Sunday morning will loosen the snowpack up and another freeze/thaw cycle will mean even more granular spring snow. The weather wont be as nice as Saturday, but the surface conditions will continue to improve through the day, overall the riding will be better than on Saturday, though wind could potentially affect some uplift later in the day.

While there has been a considerable thaw of lower level snow, this most obvious where cover was general rather than deeper drifted cover. Thus west aspects and higher elevations retain best cover, so the Buzzard side at the Lecht, Sunnyside and Meall Odhar at Glenshee retain far more coverage than the opposing aspects.

For more advanced riders, Glencoe, CairnGorm or Glenshee are all good options, with Glenshee having the most extensive terrain.

At Glenshee, Meall Odhar in particular has been one huge spring snow playground, with the Coire Fionn Pomas making their season debut on Saturday, the whole bowl from the top of Caenlochan to the base of the Fionn Pomas is in play. As the snow loosens up more widely to spring snow on Sunday there should be some great turns to be had. On Saturday the pick of the day was arguably the loop from the top of Caenlochan via the Home Run and Tom Dearg and back up again.

At Glencoe the action is mainly on the upper mountain, so really is only suited to those comfortable with the more challenging end of the blue spectrum and above in terms of terrain. But with so much SE wind, the upper mountain is a bit back to front, so still the opportunity to ride parts of Meall a Bhuiridh that are not skiable all that often and these should actually be much nicer to ride on Sunday, whereas on Saturday it paid to stick to the pisted lines on the Main Basin and Happy Valley! It is possible to return almost to the Plateau Cafe via a combination of Mugs Alley and Old Mugs Alley (with some detours), but this should be considered access only and certainly not as a green piste at this time!

For early intermediates comfortable with longer greens and easier blues, whether CairnGorm or Glenshee is best depends largely on how comfortable you are riding Pomas! CairnGorm has the advantage of the whole Cas side, plus M2 / Daylodge run being available from the funicular, with the funicular planned to make middle stops, the Traverse / Cas / Zig Zags can be accessed from the train without needing to negotiate the Carpark Runs every lap. These are passable, but narrow in places but improving with snow guns running last night and today as wetbulb temps allowed. The best route to the Cas Carpark though is via the M2 and Daylodge Poma run.

The White Lady and direct route in the Ptarmigan Bowl will be unavailable until some point in the afternoon due to races taking place on both.

Unfortunately there is no way out of the Ciste Gully or East Wall Gullies to the West Wall Poma, so these have mostly been shut, but may open depending on surface conditions and weather. Speak to ski patrol for the latest info. The Ciste Boardwalk was built for a very good reason!

The Lecht has been making snow to push out and freshen up the Robin and Wren magic carpet area, but main run options are now limited, with the Eagle which is narrow in places, the main action being on the Buzzard side of the road which is still in good shape.

For novices, the Lecht and CairnGorm have the advantage of magic carpets, but the beginner area at Glenshee remains in good condition too.

Nevis Range is closed for lift served snowsports.

:: Glencoe Sledge Park

Please note that the normal sledge park will be unavailable Fri through Monday as it is the only area on the Plateau with sufficient depth to set the terrain park for the Glencoe Gathering. The alternative spot on Old Mugs Alley is limited, so this is not the best weekend to go sledging, but there will be lots going on around the Plateau Cafe to watch!

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 the club fields are waiting for new snow to be able 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 -2.1°c, wind at 10 gusting 25mph. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was -0.6°c. At Base level (366m) it was +0.2°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -5.2°c. The Met Office station was reporting a South wind at 21 gusting 29mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was -0.3°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +2.9°c.

In the East the summit weather stations on CairnGorm reported -4.6°c, with a Southerly at a mean of 31 gusting 40mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was +3.2°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS reported -2.1°c with a South wind at a mean of 22 gusting 27mph.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

The transient ridge that gave a fine Saturday is slipping away this evening and it will be all change for the start of meteorological spring on Sunday morning, with strong to Gale South turning South Westerly wind. Speeds may lull for a time over lunch into early afternoon, before a rapid increase late afternoon into the evening, with mean speeds pushing up to between 60 and 70mph for a number of hours.

Wintry showers AM on the tops will give way to rain at all levels, precipitation may ease for a bit through the middle of the day before persistent frontal rain will push in from the SW. Expecting Munro Level temperature to go from -2 to -1°c immediately post dawn to at least +2°c and possibly as high as +4°c by afternoon.

Monday will be a blustery day with snow showers for the mountains intermixed with some sunny spells, these more likely towards the North and NE, with a SW wind. Showers and wind tending to ease as the afternoon goes on, with high pressure ridging for Tuesday.

Tuesday looks like it could be the pick of the week, a fine and bright day with plenty of sunshine and moderate winds, easing to light, the freezing level lifting just enough along with the sunshine to loosen up the snowpack to give more forgiving surface conditions without any significant melt.

Early indications suggesting dry days are also now expected on Wednesday and Thursday, but Southerly to SE wind may be picking up with a bit more cloud than on Tuesday.

:: 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 6.20am, other cams come on shortly after 6.30am. Sledge Park camera streams overnight. The mid mountain weather station wind direction is not working, other data valid.