I often wander if we are close to only having snowsports at Glencoe and a much reduced Glenshee (Cairnwell side only).
Nevis seems to have its share of problems and has reduced the available ski area, and opening times.

Lecht seems to only run 2 main lifts, 3 if you are lucky. Interestingly, HIE (highlands and islands enterprise) appear to have a 15.09% shareholding in the Lecht - see pomanda.com for details of shareholders. Is there a link between HIE and the situation at Nevis, Cairngorm and the Lecht?

However... in the short term, keen skiers get annoyed and don't go back to these centres but as time goes by, new skiers appear and are happy with what is being offered - just look at people who appear to be happy skiing on the new travellators at Cairngorm - they don't know what they missed in the past, so are happy with what is being offered now. Lecht with their 2 main lifts open, and people appear to be OK with queueing 30mins each run whilst looking at a chairlift and several drag lifts that can't or won't be opened (their reasons for not opening the other lifts don't make sense, especially the Harrier which hasn't had a cable or motor for many years - if that was Cairngorm there would be uproar about it).

It can't be easy running a Scottish ski centre, but some of them make it hard for themselves.

I hope I am wrong and that all 5 centres prosper, a change of management would help a lot.

Running a ski school for 25 years in Scotland.
It is getting warmer without any doubt in my mind.
The late 70s and 80s were much more reliable weather wise.
There was a change in the 90s which was clear for all to see.
Since then the season have been sporadic at best.
I like you which climate change would is just a bad dream or something made up by the media for yet another story.
Unfortunately,it is not with result of a collective depletion of our skiing industry.
On the up side our summer business has gone from strength to strength.

Snowsports won’t stop entirely on CairnGorm, but surely people are wakening up to the long term ‘boiling frog syndrome’ with respect to the continual reduction of carpark capacity since 2000.

It’s easy to cast CML as clueless, but HIE is not. HIE is manipulative and mendacious, fixing the funicular at any cost was entirely self serving and what was best for CairnGorm, the future of snowsports or the local economy were irrelevant in HIEs consideration.

With modest numbers on the hill and relatively few lifts running, people have had to be shuttled from the Ciste. The next step, like with core lifts policy based on a need to cut costs to make the funicular viable, stop shuttling and move to a permanent closure of the Ciste Carpark.

Then the uplift can be paired back to the Top Basin T-bars and Coire Cas to match the uplift capacity to the number of skiers that can get on the hill. That was probably the plan all along and the clowns on the hill were all to happy to go along with it because running a Scottish ski areas is hard work and CML is institutionally lazy, a can’t do group of nobodies who’ve destroyed the life’s work of the pioneers.

Your last sentance Alan resonates with me strongly;

'a can’t do group of nobodies who’ve destroyed the life’s work of the pioneers'

I feel so sorry (even though they have all probably long since died) for those that invested time and money into Cairngorm only for HIE to come along and gradually destroy it with a real sense of disrespect.

I don't disagree with anything you've said there. I can't believe that HIE doesn't come in for a lot deeper public criticism for their awful Cairngorm decision making, the waste of public finance, and the uncompetitive unfairness of the other ski areas receiving relative scraps for their own development plans compared to Cairngorm's £millions.

But I'm wondering what you mean by fixing the funicular being 'self-serving'? Do you mean they have been covering themselves on earlier bad decisions, like putting in a funicular in the first place?

I think we could have the answer?

[www.nevisrange.co.uk] .

Cairngorms: We’re the worst run ski area in Scotland.
Nevis Range: Hold my beer!

Utter shower.

Let the lifts rot while chucking £££s at projects for beginners then announce no lessons and next to no hire! You couldn’t make it up! Until you understand the projects were an arrogant failed attempt to self build a snow plant because they thought they knew better than TechnoAlpin, and building a magic carpet that skis slip on because the gradient is wrong, plus a sledging slope that can’t be safely used because there’s no flat runout!

This bit must be worthy of genius of the century award:

Regards snow making:

'The main challenges we have experienced with it have been temperature, humidity, and cost to run.'

So in summary the main challenge they have experienced with snow making, is ahem snow making.

Any news from Nevis Range of what their plans are for skiing this coming season?
Last season wasn't great for snow but it felt like Nevis put in minimal effort to open for snowsports.

The Gondola will be open Wed-Sun from next week through to 22nd Dec, then daily from Boxing Day to Sun 5th Jan. After which as things currently stand, ALL facilities including at the base / hotel etc will close for January. Annual maintenance closure of the gondola will be in January!

Sounds like they are betting on better snow in Feb and March, not the worst idea in the world unless a big snowstorm hits in december!

So what was the point of this?

[www.nevisrange.co.uk]