Both Cairngorm & Glencoe have 10 April as season end on www.skiresort.com. It is dissappointing if they're turning off lifts 'cos there are few customers. All it costs to run a poma is one guy at the bottom twiddling his thumbs. It's a chicken & egg situation, people won't come if the lifts aren't running. Just the funicular with mid stops is frustrating 'cos you seem to spend a lot of time hanging about waiting for it. As for the recent comments about artificial snow, you only have to look at somewhere like Winterberg in central Germany to see how transformational it can be. They are low (2000-2700 ft), wet & windy. They've had hardly any natural snow this year or last but still have most of their runs full with with artificial snow. Many places in The Alps and USA make their lower slopes in a few cold days in December and they last all season through thaw periods, rain, hair dryer winds and 20C sunny spring days. Over 3 or 4 cold nights they can make enough snow to cover the runs a foot or so deep and it really does last all season. I don't see why it wouldn't work the same in Scotland and I just don't buy all the "it's different in Scotland" comments. It's more like we don't have the right snow cannons and/or we don't know how to use them proprerly or they simply aren't used when the could be.

Didn't you get the email? This is the best time of the year to ski and there's "great skiing" on offer....you only have to look at windys pictures to see their superb snow cover. Now go and "play"

Maf,

Snow permitting we don't plan to shut at Glencoe until the May bank holiday weekend, 2nd May likely to be our last day. We have never given a closing date so guess www.skiresort.com have just made it up. A great cover still on the mountain with all runs now complete again. Plenty of life still left in the season as long as people want to keep skiing.



Edited 2 times. Last edit at 08.49hrs Mon 28 Mar 16 by igloo4you.

Good news for Glencoe fans. C'mon Natural White Flag, can you respond to that?

Igloo,

I have to admit I was surprised to see 10 Apr on Skiresort, but they have told me previously that ski areas fill in their own details. You are now confirming my doubts about this being completely true. I have skied at Glencoe most years in late April and several times into May. I appreciate how hard your guys work to keep things going as long as there is snow, and customers.

And now we seem to have turned a Cairngorm thread into an ad for Glencoe...Hahaha !

Met this chap. It was difficult to hear what he was saying as the sound was very muffled and coming out a strange place. Has not been skiing at Cairngorm but knows for a fact the snow has melted, that runs are over crowded, the queues are huge and the last day of the season is the 10th of April or was it last week, I was having difficult making him out. Over all it is not worth going to Cairngorm at all as it is shut.



For the more well adjusted folks, you know the truth, talk to paying customers that ski there every day to get an unbiased report, check the photographs and webcams and make your mind up yourself.

Igloo, thanks for clarifying your situation, I wish some one at CG would make a post every so often even if under a pseudonym. I wish CG were as open with the public as you are.

Graeme







Edited 1 times. Last edit at 17.06hrs Mon 28 Mar 16 by WindyMiller.

Attachments: 001.jpg (295kB)  

Easter Monday, even quieter than Friday. I took pictures of the load stations between 10:30 and 11:30. Traditional the busiest time on the mountain as people get out of ski hire and ski schools are in full swing. Very few people indeed.

M1 and cas load area, no people waiting at 11:00


Ptarmigan load area 11:30


The weather looked promising first thing but the cloud quickly lowered and heavy snow showers moved through. The good thing was the over night snow and falling snow freshened up the runs very nicely, the firm base covered up with wettish but nice snow.

In the morning the snow was fast but after lunch it was softening and getting sticky. The West Wall opened mid afternoon and was great fun to play on, a little slow but fresh tracks were to be had.

The Lady was by far the best run of the day. It remained in good condition to the last and with the heavy snow showers you could find nice pockets to bounce through.

Top bowls, ciste fairway, and cas area are all still good and wide as is the upper Fiacaill. Off piste is not really doable but there is more snow forecast so here is hoping.

There is still skiing to the day lodge but it is a bit hit and miss for the last 50m but still much better than using the train of shame.

Loads of pictures taken especially when the sun came out between the snow showers. Up on face book later.

[www.facebook.com]

Graeme
Unbiased reporting for skiers that ski Cairngorm by people that actually ski Cairngorm.

Fresh snow on the white lady. When getting back to the M1 I liked to ski past the marked route and go further down the run. A few holes over the burn but a better ski.


Fresh snow on the West Wall. A little heavy and slow but a very nice ski down.


The upper Fiacaill, wide and nice. There are two options, the old Fiacaill run back to the zigzags and the cas or a pisted run back to the car park. The last 50m are a bit combat but quite doable for intermediates and above.







Edited 2 times. Last edit at 18.10hrs Mon 28 Mar 16 by WindyMiller.

Attachments: West Wall.JPG (206kB)   Fiacaill.JPG (231kB)   White Lady.JPG (245kB)   Ptarmigan.JPG (222kB)   M1.JPG (258kB)  

If Cairngorm were open to the Public....as regards their future plans......I can only foresee them getting even more of, a usually, well deserved slagging !

Natural Retreats and Highlands and Islands Enterprise obviously have no plans for future ski development......in fact HIE have promoted a mechanical decline that has left the Mountain in the dire condition it now presents...especially in Summer months, when a wander round the Ciste will reveal TONS of debris that HIE's land Manager is not interested in ! Which is doubly frustrating as he has held that position for years, and not done very much of his Job !

NR have inherited this mess and are, understandably to a certain extent, reluctant to spend money they don't and never will have !
This leaves them plunging on hoping that the magical £ 16 Million will appear and they can create the new Day Lodge....which is not much more than a direct copy of the one in Solden ! The Architect certainly sold NR a beauty there !!

Ah Windy - you have just put the biggest smile on my face! Thank you. I WILL be up this week.

WindyMiller, your photo reports of Cairngorm are great and you are lucky if you are able to ski every day. Most of us can't. I don't think your lucky situation gives you the right to ridicule others just pointing out factual situations, or even posting opinions you don't agree with, and before anyone asks, yes, I have skiied at all 5 of the Highland ski areas this season. I am so disappointed in you....


Unless of course you used a mirror to take that pic

I think in recent years Cairngorm has become rubbish a lot of the time. They charge the most of any of resorts and what you get for it is usually the least of all the other resorts. Loads of visiting folk have learned this time and time again and judging by how empty the place is recently it shows they've had enough of it.

Fresh over night snow covered much of the mid mountain up and by 10:00 the sun was shining at all levels. The new snow covered the firmed up base nicely giving smooth carving. I did the cas a couple of times top to bottom with out stopping getting a nice controlled rhythm going, a pleasure when you have the conditions to do this. The cas remained in good condition right through the day although a little softer.

All mid and upper runs were in good form, the Lady was very nice most of the morning but did become a little scraped in the after noon. The ciste gully was excellent but you now have to traverse out high as the lower has a lack of snow.

With out question the best run of the day was the Aonach Bowl, entering from Ryvoan you can cut across to the middle and on to the fresh. Unfortunately this was tracked out very quickly so we headed back to the gully.

The west wall was nice but a bit lumpy from yesterday, the gully was better.

A number of people were heading off piste, up on to the east ptarmigan and over to gully 1+2. The snow is still very thin in these places but it looks like they were having fun.

Again very few people around. The cas and M1 lifts were empty much of the time, the WWP was deserted. Occasionally the ciste t-bar had some people when a couple of classes arrived together but most oft he time was ski on.

By 15:00 snow showers were starting again, hopefully tomorrow will be a repeat of today, finger crossed.

Graeme


The cas was superb to ski first thing, good dry fresh snow on a firm base.


Ciste Fairway and upper runs, the new snow changed the surface very nicely


The Ciste gully, well look at it!


The Aonach Bowl, the best ski of the day.


West wall a bit lumpy in places but nice when you could find the fresh.
The return to the WWP is getting quite tricky now and the tow path is getting thin. I hope it holds out a bit longer.







Edited 1 times. Last edit at 18.26hrs Tue 29 Mar 16 by WindyMiller.

Attachments: Aonach Bowl.JPG (284kB)   Ciste Fairway.JPG (266kB)   Ciste Gully.JPG (246kB)   Upper Cas.JPG (246kB)   West Wall.JPG (253kB)  

Not quite a repeat of yesterday as it took longer for the sun to come out and not quite as much fresh snow but a good day anyway.

I met a chap looking rather lost and asked if he needed some help. Turned out it was his first time skiing in Scotland and did not know where to ski. I explained I used to be a guide and if he wanted I would show him some of the runs. Quickly realised he was a very competent skier so it was down the west wall, ciste gully, lady luck into the lady and a high speed run from the top of the ptarmigan to the 105, cas and Fiacaill ridge down to the car park for the end of the day. Made his day, he was so happy he is now coming back tomorrow. I saw a few folks with piste maps out today looking perplexed, a pity. So much good skiing at the moment if you are in the know how to link it together.

The bottom of the Fiacaill is holding up, just, giving a long run from the top of the Ptarmigan down to the car park. It is quite skiable for a good intermediate up. The poma is being switched off just before lunch due to lack of people using it also to allow us to use the bottom of the track to get back down at the end of the day.

Best runs of the day, ciste gully with a high traverse on to the west wall and the white lady. The Lady was firm but very forgiving, not scraped like yesterday.

105,cas and gun barrel are very good.

The guys are having to shovel a lot of snow to keep the west wall poma running and to keep the skiing to the load station. There work is greatly appreciated as it is opening up a large advanced skiing area.

Some more pictures on face book later.
[www.facebook.com]

Graeme

The park is being worked on, interesting features being constructed, looks like a ski cross.


Looking over to the restaurant past the polar express as some amazing cloud formations.


The bottom part of the gully is starting to slump so it is recommended to traverse out high.


The ciste bowl, wide and good snow.


The mountain can be a bit off putting to look at but as you can see from the pictures from mid up is excellent. There are still a number of ways to ski back to the car park, a bit of heather hopping at the bottom.








Edited 2 times. Last edit at 17.52hrs Wed 30 Mar 16 by WindyMiller.

Attachments: Ciste Bowl.JPG (214kB)   Over View.JPG (262kB)   gully.JPG (277kB)   Polar Express.JPG (261kB)   Park.JPG (242kB)  

It's looking like the new Loch Morlich webcam didn't like the view! We are hoping to get a view back later this afternoon but it might be a temporary camera with a much wider field of view as it looks as if the new camera is faulty.

Maybe to be kind we should start an other thread next year, one for "Cairngorm Mountain Snow Conditions Week End" and one for "Cairngorm Mountain Snow Conditions Mid Week" so for those of you stuck at work all week can ignore what we retired folks are enjoying.

Today was another cracker, colder with a little more wind than of late but mainly blue sky with light snow showers passing through. It looks like people are getting the message and are coming back to the late season skiing. The cas and M1 were still very quiet but there were occasional queues at the Ciste and Ptarmigan, nothing significant but you had to wait your turn, maybe 5 to 7 minutes or so.

The snow on the upper mountain is as good as it gets. The colder temps and falling light snow gave an excellent powder finish to whiz through.
The M1 and Cas lift load areas get a bit wet at the end of the day but the runs are holding up well.

The ciste gully and west wall are great as is gully No1. Ryvoan is a bit sketchy at the WWP load area but it is being patched each evening. Gully 1 stood out as the best today.

The ski home in the evening is still a good run from the top of the cas, along the Fiacaill traverse, down the ridge run and the tow track for the last few meters.

Tomorrow looks like a right off with weather. The guys are hoping it will be snowing in the storm, I hope so too. Fingers crossed.

Pictures on face book later
[www.facebook.com]

Graeme

The park features were in use today. The good thing is no matter what you ability is you can use it. If you wish to ski fast and jump the corners go ahead or take it easy and enjoy the banked turns.


The falling snow sparkled in the cold temperatures with the thin cloud the sun was never far away.


The mid and upper runs are actually gaining snow. Lets see what the storm tomorrow brings.


west wall is seeing a lot of use but never crowded.


Top of gully no1 looking over to the west wall and ciste t-bar. Be careful on the gully 2/3s of the way down. There is a large Susan shaped dent where she decided to test her helmet out. We all think it was a ploy to get a ride on patrol's snow mobile Pictures on face book












Edited 1 times. Last edit at 19.06hrs Thu 31 Mar 16 by WindyMiller.

Attachments: gully 1.JPG (195kB)   west wall.JPG (270kB)   park.JPG (264kB)   snow sparkle.JPG (220kB)   Fiacaill.JPG (242kB)