General Situation // Scottish Ski & Winter Activity Report // Winterhighland

A busy day across the ski areas as fresh snow, sunshine and half term collided! The ridge of high pressure that gave a bluebird Tuesday is moving NE a bit quicker than originally forecast. This complicates things for Wednesday because it means a return of strong SE winds. Where surface tows are running in high winds, it is critically important that all riders stay on the up-track in line with upline and do not drift far out, as that makes derailments basically inevitable! Everyone can help keep things running!

This looks particularly problematic for CairnGorm, where topographic and katabatic wind acceleration is likely to see Severe Gales, possibly even Storm Force SE winds develop overnight and these could drift lots of snow onto the road! CairnGorm are advising against travelling to the mountain until there is an update, if the Ski Road is unlikely to open, all tickets and equipment hire will be automatically refunded. Even if the road opens, uplift is likely to be limited to some extent by the wind.

If you are travelling any distance and have prebooked tickets, maybe hedge your bets! Stop for breakfast somewhere, have a plan B and/or prepared to turn around if the news is not good. From the south, potentially hold fire around Pitlochary or Ballinluig , as it is only 10 miles (about 20-25min) further from there to Glencoe which is much less affected by SE winds.

The A939 Lecht Pass remained closed to through traffic as the Strathdon side did not open Tuesday at all and the climb from Strathdon is prone to severe drifting on SE winds, there is a lot of loose snow to blow back into the part cleared road overnight. There should be less problems from the Tomintoul side, so be prepared to change your journey to come in from the West side.

Glencoe does not get the full force of SE winds so looks the safest bet for Wednesday and having seen between 23 and 28cm of snow since Saturday, the Plateau area runs which have been transformed over the past 48hours. Thus 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 from the Rannoch Chair. Some pockets of windblown fresh likely in the morning despite a dry night as snow moves around in the changing wind direction, elsewhere it is a mix of skier tracked / packed and machine groomed snow after a busy Tuesday.

Providing the road and train opens, the CairnGorm Funicular is offering 1550ft of non-surface uplift vertical with a mix of green, blue and red terrain accessible from the train, thus weather permitting CairnGorm is the best option for those who would like to avoid surface lifts so far as possible! The White Lady, East Lady and M1 RaceTrack are in great shape for more experienced riders, and the M2/Daylodge run is a great option from the train for blue terrain skiers / riders.

Glenshee had Storm Force NW winds overnight into Tuesday morning and this has moved the loose snow around, and there has been quite an improvement in the South facing areas of Butcharts on Carn Aosda. Indeed the Carn Aosda fenced run was seeing quite a bit of action from people hoofing up from the Butcharts Access Poma. The T-bar uptrack is also finally starting to fill in!

To get the most out of Glenshee you really need to be comfortable with the Pomas, but there is 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. But check lift status AM with the stronger winds forecast.

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.

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.

At the Lecht the main runs are complete and full width between the fences, and there is a huge expanse of snow on the Buzzard side. The beginner magic carpet areas are in great shape.

Nevis Range will be closed for lift served snowsports on Wed and Thu, while the gondola is due to run, the forecast SE wind speeds could now be problematic for it, so check updates. 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.

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:: 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. Mix of windblown fresh and some rather boilerplate older snow. Tow will not run on Wednesday, but may run on Thursday, tbc.

Yad Moss despite some thawing on Monday was able to open on Tuesday with some fresh drifted snow, under blue skies. Yad Moss will open Wednesday, day tickets are available but must be bought in advance (no on site sales), go to https: //yadmoss.co.uk/ .

Weardale and Allenheads opened on Sunday morning. Both of these need more snow 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/ .

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:: Mountain Weather

At 6pm in the West at the Glencoe SSC hut (850m) the temperature was -6.5°c, wind at 16 gusting 22mph. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was -5.4°c. At Base level (366m) it was -2.8°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -8.3°c. The Met Office station was reporting a SE wind at 22 gusting 35mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was -3.5°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was -0.3°c.

In the East the Met Office Summit AWS on CairnGorm reported -9.3°c, with the HW summit weather station reporting an ESE wind at 16 gusting 20mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was -2.8°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS reported -6.7°c with an East wind at a mean of 12 gusting 19mph.

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:: 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.

At Glencoe more sightseers arriving after lunch meant the carpark did reach capacity for a period in the afternoon, given the way half term long weekends and holidays match up, Tuesday was likely to be the busiest day of the period at Glencoe. 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.

A plea, please DO NOT park in passing places on the Access Road. It is an offense to so obstruct single track roads and you can be ticketed for it, but it should be fairly obvious that the passing places are needed to maintain two way traffic. Oh and cars also have reverse!

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:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

The ridge that brought the fine Tuesday is going to drift to the NE overnight and while a dry and bright Wednesday is expected, higher level cloud is expected to thicken up and make it hazier than Tuesday as the day goes on. SE winds are also trending stronger in most recent forecast model updates, see snow report above for potential impacts on snowsports.

By Wednesday as the ridge drifts North Eastwards, the winds will flip to be South Easterly overnight. Generally moderate SE wind at Glencoe, but gustier around the tops. It is the Northern Cairngorms and Nevis Range mountains that will see the highest speeds, Severe Gales or potentially reaching Storm Force. Around -4 to -5°c at Munro Level, freezing at most levels in land, windchill will be severe were fully exposed to the wind, be prepared!

Thursday looks to be dry with partly to mostly cloudy skies, with continuing high South Easterly wind, could see gusts to between 60 to 80mph 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 again 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 there is still significant uncertainty for the weekend, both affecting temperature and wind speed. Current indications are that overhead is likely to be better on Sunday than Saturday, and with the wind from the SW or SSW being most likely, the Lecht and Glenshee potentially have the best overhead and least wind. Would hold fire on making definite weekend plans just yet, as there is the potential for wind to significantly impact uplift operations.

However, with a much more mobile pattern than off late, there will also be ridges bringing relative lulls, so timing will be key, if these fall during the day, there maybe a decent weather window.

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?

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:: 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.

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