After some discussion on social media about when the Glas Maol Poma last run at Glenshee, we thought when did every ski lift in Scotland last operate. After some crude error checking for blatant errors (lifts operating after they didn't exist etc) we have the answers:

AREA	NAME	                 LAST OPERATED	        STATUS
CG	Coire na Ciste Tow	 Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
CG	CairnGorm Funicular	 Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
CG	SnowBadger Carpet 1	 Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
CG	Ptarmigan Ski Tow	 Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
CG	SnowBadger Carpet 2	 Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
CG	Polar Express Poma	 Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
GC	Access Chairlift	 Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
GC	Sledge Park Carpet	 Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
LT	Robin Carpet	         Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
LT	Wren Carpet	         Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
GS	Rope Tow	         Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
GS	Dink Dink Poma	         Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
GS	Plastic Slope Poma	 Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
GS	Claybokie Poma	         Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
LT	Kestrel Poma	         Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
LT	Grouse Poma	         Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
GS	Baddoch Chairlift	 Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
GS	Butchart's Access Poma	 Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
CG	M1 Poma	                 Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
LT	Osprey Poma	         Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
GS	Sunnyside Poma 1	 Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
LT	Buzzard Poma	         Sat  10 Jan  2026	Operational
NR	Gondola	                 Sun   4 Jan  2026	Operational
GS	Cairnwell Chairlift	 Wed  31 Dec  2025	Operational
GS	Cairnwell Ski Tow	 Thu  20 Feb  2025	Operational
GS	Cliffhanger Chairlift	 Wed  19 Feb  2025	Operational
GC	Plateau Poma	         Wed  19 Feb  2025	Operational
GC	Rannoch Chairlift	 Wed  19 Feb  2025	Operational
GC	Coire Pollach Tow	 Wed  19 Feb  2025	Operational
CG	Carpark Ski Tow	         Sun   2 Feb  2025	Operational
CG	Coire Cas T-Bar	         Sun   2 Feb  2025	Operational
GC	Wall Ski Tow	         Sun   2 Feb  2025	Operational
CG	Sheiling Tow	         Fri  31 Jan  2025	Operational
LT	Eagle Poma	         Tue  14 Jan  2025	Operational
LT	Snowy Owl Chairlift	 Sat  11 Jan  2025	Operational
GC	Rannoch Button	         Fri   5 Apr  2024	Operational
GC	Main Basin T-Bar	 Mon   4 Mar  2024	Operational
NR	Summit Ski Tow	         Fri  16 Feb  2024	Operational
NR	Snowgoose Ski Tow	 Fri  16 Feb  2024	Operational
NR	Snowgoose Quad	         Fri  16 Feb  2024	Operational
NR	Alpha Tow	         Thu  15 Feb  2024	Operational
CG	Fiacaill Ridge Poma	 Sun  21 Jan  2024	Operational
LT	Eaglet Poma	         Sun  21 Jan  2024	Operational
GS	Tom Dearg Poma	         Sat  20 Jan  2024	Operational
GS	Sunnyside Poma 2	 Thu  18 Jan  2024	Operational
GS	Carn Aosda Ski Tow	 Sat  11 Mar  2023	Operational
GS	Butcharts Ski Tow	 Sat  11 Mar  2023	Operational
NR	Great Glen Chairlift	 Mon  30 Jan  2023	Vertical Storage
GC	Plateau Rope Tow	 Sun  15 Jan  2023	Decomissioned
GS	Meall Odhar Poma	 Wed   9 Mar  2022	Operational
CG	West Wall Poma	         Mon   7 Mar  2022	Operational
LT	Falcon Poma	         Mon  28 Feb  2022	Operational
NR	Linnhe Tow	         Sat  19 Feb  2022	Operational
CG	DayLodge Poma	         Thu  20 Jan  2022	Operational
GS	Glas Maol Poma	         Sun  22 Mar  2020	Operational
GS	Coire Fionn Poma 1	 Sun  22 Mar  2020	Operational
GS	Caenlochan Poma	         Sun  22 Mar  2020	Operational
GS	Beag Poma	         Sun  22 Mar  2020	Operational
GS	Cluny Poma 1	         Sun  22 Mar  2020	Operational
GS	Sunnyside Chairlift	 Sun  22 Mar  2020	Operational
NR	Braveheart Chairlift	 Sat  21 Apr  2018	Vertical Storage
NR	Rob Roy Ski Tow	         Sat  14 Apr  2018	Operational
NR	Warrens Ski Tow	         Sat  14 Apr  2018	Vertical Storage
GS	Cluny Poma 2	         Mon   9 Apr  2018	Operational
GS	Coire Fionn Poma 2	 Fri   6 Apr  2018	Operational
LT	Harrier Poma	         Sun   1 Apr  2018	Vertical Storage
GS	Meall Odhar T-bar	 Sun   4 Apr  2010	Towers Reused
CG	White Lady T-bar	 Wed  22 Mar  2006	Scrapped
CG	West Wall Chairlift	 Sun   7 Mar  2004	Scrapped
CG	Fiacaill Ski Tow	 Sun  17 Mar  2002	Scrapped / Towers used for Lecht Snow Guns
CG	Coire na Ciste Chairlift Sat  16 Mar  2002	Scrapped
CG	Carpark Chairlift	 Sun  29 Apr  2001	Scrapped
CG	White Lady Chairlift	 Mon  16 Apr  2001	Scrapped
CG	Aonach Poma	         Thu  12 Apr  2001	Scrapped
GS	Corrour Poma	         Unknown	        Vertical Storage / Towers Reused
GS      Trainer Tow              Unknown                Scrapped *
GS      Tiger T-bar              Unknown                Scrapped
GS	Grianan Poma	         Unknown	        Towers Reused

* The Trainer Tow was located parallel to the existent Claybokie Poma, and run as a backup uplift for a number of years after the Claybokie Poma was installed. The Poma takes its name from the Trainer Tow's original location as the Blue Tow at the short lived Mar Lodge Ski Area in the mid 1960s. The Cairnwell T-bar was also relocated from Mar Lodge where it was the Red Tow.



Edited 5 times. Last edit at 17.55hrs Sun 11 Jan 26 by alan.

Looks like my login still works, it's been a while!

I forget the exact date of the trip, but I'm pretty certain that the Corrour Poma, Tiger Tow (which was a button) and Grianan were all operational during my first trip to Glenshee in March 1996. I've probably still got the 5 day lift pass and original piste map from that trip knocking about in my archive, but it may be a few weeks before I can get at it. I was at university at the time, my younger brother was at school, so probably the last week of March 1996.

From memory they seemed to alternate the operation of the Tiger Tow and Cairnwell chair, probably depending on the weather. The Tiger Tow uptrack was a bit lethal...

The Trainer tow was still in situ for my March 96 trip, but I didn't see it operate.

I think Grianan was still in situ in April 2001 (no exact date). I don't recall it operating but the attached photo suggests it was ready to roll.

Attachments: Grianan-Apr-2001.jpg (87kB)  

Pretty sure Meall Odhar Poma is wrong. Don't think it's run since March 2020.

Mega resource, love this.

I don't recall ever seeing the Grianan Poma operating (it basically was an invitation to try it on without a lift pass), unlike the Corrour Poma, never was on the Grianan.

Tiger was definitely a T-bar, but in the last few seasons it run, it had a mix of buttons and T-bars! Possibly it finally was all buttons, as was the Meall Odhar T-bar in 2010! By that point the Meall Odhar T-bar had been well tamed, my recollection was it used to be faster than the Caenlochan Poma, which is saying something!

Probably the worst snowboarding accident I've seen was a male boarder who stuck a T-bar between their legs and caught an edge and face-planted between the first and second tower of the Meall Odhar T-bar. The tow would not stop for the lifty and the poor soul was nearly at the top before it did stop, dragged up by his ****s face in the snow at warp factor 5!

Grianan was sooo good for season pass holders. We used to have an easy way to start our day.

Courrour, if there was a way to build a snowfactory at/near the ridge, would be a welcome addition. It was the flattest of the four runs on that face. It was also near constant gradient so ideal for learning

I remember the Meall Odhar T-bar as a button in 2010, I seem to recall the Caenlochan had suffered a pylon collapse in a storm so. I remember riding it as a T bar in 1996, but don't recall how fast it was.

I have managed to find a picture proving that the Tiger Tow had a least one button on it in March 1996. Unfortunately you can't tell what the following hanger has on the end of it and the other shots are all too distant.

It was probably 3rd or 4th week of March 1996, I was at University at the time and so the trip would have been during the University holidays. When I find the lift pass, I can confirm! I'm pretty sure almost everything that was extant at the time moved during that week and I would have ridden them all. The only exception being the Trainer Tow, that didn't run.

I have seen the "Glenshee telemix" of T-Bars and Buttons on Carn Aosda several times, so they do have "form" when it comes to mix and match.


Attachments: tiger1.jpg (77kB)   tiger2.jpg (109kB)  

Caenlochan can be updated to this Tuesday!

Supposedly Coire Fionn was opened up today which implies the one or both Coire Fionn tows were operating as well, but the reports seem mixed on this.

Coire Fionn was spinning on 28th Feb and again on 2nd March, the lift that was in use was the "downhill" one closeest to the red run (I forget which is 1 & 2).

The lower lift derailed (top pylon) in the wind around 2pm on 2nd March. I observed that the upper Coire Fionn lift was turning for a very short time after the lower lift had de-railed, I'm guessing to evacuate people stuck at the bottom, but I didn't actually see anybody on it. Both uptracks had been preped and both were fully loaded with Poma bars

Attachments: IMG_20260302_130202.jpg (174kB)  

Did the summit tow at Nevis range end up being used?

No, only the Alpha and the Goose.

On the subject of the withdrawn Pomas at Glenshee, the Grianan Poma was still existent in winter 2001/02, also of note on the same day in March 2002 is two very shinny towers at the bottom of the Sunnyside Pomas vs the rest, had they come from the Corrour Poma or were they new or re-galvanised?





The Grianan Poma was gone by the 2005 season, so did the removal come after the management buyout in summer 2004 after the Glenshee Chairlift Company went into receivership?

Does anyone know why the Scottish ski centres made little investment it seems into lifts in the 1990s. It seemed there where many good snow years and they probably could of afforded new lifts

Nevis (ironically given the current situation) did, with the Rob Roy T-bar, Warrens T-bar, Great Glen and Braveheart Chairlifts added during the 90s to the original lift layout from the opening season.

On CairnGorm the early 90s saw the Scottish Ministers strike down the Highland Regional Councils structure plan and with it the second HIDB/HIE lead plan to develop West into Lurchers Gully. Thereafter by 1994 the focus had shifted to the funicular project and all that has followed! But it means no significant new surface lift and obviously no new chairlifts have been installed on CairnGorm since 1989 with the Daylodge Poma. The Link Lift Poma was moved to the Top Basin as Polar Express and the Sheiling Button Tow was replaced by a glorified rope tow.

The sequence of bad winters in 88/89, 89/90 and 91/92 had by the time the funicular project came about got HIE beating the invest in diversification drum, plus their focus was very much on CairnGorm and the funicular - this almost certainly had an impact in consuming potential capital support for significant new uplift elsewhere.

A significant amount of capital was misspent with hindsight on inappropriate diversification strategies that really shouldnt have been attempted at remote mountain locations a considerable distance from population centres. Such as the dry ski slope, devil carting and mountain biking at the Lecht. Though outside the HIE area, Glenshee with the Glen Isla golf course which ultimately helped collapse the Glenshee Chairlift Company after the 2003 season - which at the time came perilously close to closing Glencoe for good.

There is also the issue that for a mix of operational / safety / practical and environmental reasons, the existing ski areas were to varying degrees reaching their practical extent limits.

Would it be possible update this list now the season is nearly finished?
with a few lifts & tows, now have been in use for the first time for many a season which is good to see.
thanks

I'm fairly sure that was the start of them making pylons, Alan. They make them on site and then send to get them galvanised. Those were done first as they replaced double pylons, cenetred in the gully doing both uptracks. The down side skipped the pylons at those points.

Memory fails me, but I guess it was impossible to piste when the old pylons were slap bang in thw middle of the gully?

The engineering skill is brilliant as evidenced in remaking the top wheel of Butcharts T Bar.