This year’s film DYNASTY is a celebration of 60 years of Warren Miller films that reunites the generations. Winterhighland is bringing DYNASTY to Inverness, Perth, Aberdeen and Dundee. Tickets for our Inverness and Perth shows are already on sale.

Visit the DYNASTY page  to view the trailer and get details of ticketing.

A number of other towns and cities in Scotland feature on the Black Diamond tour, for additional venues and dates check out www.warrenmiller.co.uk .

The first day of October brought the first dusting of snow of the approaching winter. While limited to the higher Munros, and just the summits by later in the day, October 2009 started with an early Northerly incursion like last year.

The first lying snow visible on the SSC Hut balcony showed up on the webcam on 3rd October last year and though it’s turned milder through Friday morning, cooler conditions are expected to return for the weekend. Though snow is likely to be restricted to the tops again on Saturday, the Freezing Level could be around Munro Level, so possibly snow at the SSC Hut on Sunday, just a day later than last year.

Over the past couple of weeks the ‘Gorm has taken on a much more noticeably autumnal colour, as shown in the photos below walking up to the SSC Hut. The pleasant afternoon gave way to a heavy sleet by dusk at the Ski Club Hut and it definitely felt like winter is getting near walking back down. Hopefully it wont be too long before the mountain glistens in a genuine winter coat.

Autumn colours on the

Looking up Coire Cas

A late evening post from the Scottish Ski Club Hut on CairnGorm Mountain where the Winterhighland webcams have been repositioned to their Winter position, offering views up the White Lady and over the Funicular to the M1 Poma, plus the hut cam looking over the balcony which is fantastic in winter for gauging new snow falls.

Several parts of the weather station have been upgraded, this has allowed the sensors to be hard wired to the AWS console, instead of relying on a radio signal. The principle advantage of this is that the AWS records wind speeds much more frequently and the reception of data is less prone to radio intereference.

The SSC hut is relatively sheltered by the ‘Gorms standards, and the positioning of the anemometer is not a good indication of wind speeds on the mountain as a whole. However the location was chosen to get an indication of how wind affects the hollow at the foot of the White Lady and in future this will help assess how much less exposed this small part of the mountain is, how that affects snow lie and reliability of the lower White Lady and help in assessing the potential snow making may have to restore the reliability of the lower 1/4r of the White Lady which circumstantially seems to have suffered severely from the Funicular.

It is planned to install two more Automatic Weather Stations to further increase climate data from CairnGorm, one will be mid altitude on the lower slopes and the second mid-way up the middle slopes. These will give truer wind speeds for the middle and lower slopes respectively and provide more useful info for assessing conditions.

Finally for now, a third camera is operating in the SSC Hut, giving a view across the Fiacaill area of Coire Cas.  Last year the cameras went back live for winter on 1st October after the power was switched off to the Ski Club hut during the early autumn for major repairs to the home road and culverts around the Kassbohrer garage - a couple of days later there was snow to be seen. Hopefully the first dusting will appear on the cams before long.

It’s dark, time to head off the hill.

At the end of last week Winterhighland launched it’s annual Photo Competition to find the best Scottish Snow photos for our 2010 Calendar.

We’ve already had over 20 photos submitted with several more waiting to be processed and uploaded to the Photo Competition thread in the forum.

There is only one category this year and it’s basically ‘Scottish Snow’. The only conditions are it must be from late 2007 onwards, be a photo containing snow taken in Scotland. Please only submit your own photos or those you have permission to submit though!

You can send your photos to pix2009@winterhighland.info and you can check out further information and the photos submitted to date in the forum.

As part of an ongoing effort to gather weather data to enable a climatic research study into the future potential for snow making and other optimisation strategies for snow management and snowsports on CairnGorm Mountain, I today took delivery of a Technoline WS2350 AWS (automatic weather station).  Which I’m setting up for use on the lower slopes of CairnGorm Mountain to gather temperature, wet-bulb temperature and wind speed data specifically from the beginner runs served by the Sheiling Trainer Tow.

This AWS will when set up (during the Autumn) give specific data from a mid-point of the lower slopes as well as being configured through a computer data logger to upload data on-line to Winterhighland to give a real-time data feed of weather conditions on the lower mountain.

To both log the data for future research and to enable the on-line provision of weather data in real-time the AWS requires to be connected to a PC. Though the Technoline weather stations come with their own Windows software called ‘Heavy Weather’, Winterhighland is using re-furbished second hand P3 computers operating Ubuntu Linux and an open source suite of applications called ‘Open2300′. Open2300’s apps provide the direct interface between the Winterhighland data processing scripts and the AWS console.

This use does not require particularly powerful computers, thus Winterhighland has chosen to buy and re-use second hand small form factor P3 computers as previously used for the Loch Morlich AWS and the SSC Hut webcams.

Adding RAM and hard drive to second hand small form factor P3 PC.

Unlike the WS3600 model of weather station which has been used for the past 2 winter seasons at the Scottish Ski Club Hut adjacent to the mid-station on CairnGorm Mountain, the WS2350 model does not have a slatted radiation shield for the thermo-hygro sensor, only a solid plastic rain cover. This makes it susceptible to ‘over heating’ at times of the day when it’s exposed to direct sunlight. Despite the best efforts to place the temperature sensor in the shade, this problem has been evident with our Loch Morlich unit during sunny mornings at the height of summer.

To alleviate this issue I’ve been experimenting with a home made fan aspirated radiation shield, driven by a small fan powered when the sun is strong by a solar panel designed for a small ornamental fountain! Lacking the solid bottom plate when the photo was taken, this screen has shown a temperature as much as 5°c lower than the WS2350 sensor in standard housing when exposed to direct sunlight, showing a significant improvement in temperature accuracy on warm sunny days.

Experimental Fan Asspirated Radiation Screen for WS2350

One final photo shows the rebuilt P3 computer running Ubuntu Linux set up as a temporary work station in the garden shed where it was easy to provide a cable connection to the WS2350 sensors.  With a cabled connection the update frequency is greatly increased which will help provide more accurate gust wind speed figures.

Rebuilt P3 hooked up to the WS2350 in a shed for testing.

Now up and running in the shed and online using PCI WiFi cards with external antenna connector, this computer will ultimately upload data to the internet through Winterhighland’s GPRS router in the SSC Hut at 2500ft on CairnGorm by WiFi link to the SSC Hut.

On Saturday 30th May with a perfect blue sky around 20 people gathered at Glenshee Ski Centre from 10am for a guided walk about with Dr Adam Watson. A selection of photos from the day have been put up in the Pix from the Slopes, as well as a number of photos/links and discussion about the day in the forum.

Gathering at the Cafe

To start the day off prior to heading up the Cairnwell Chairlift and onwards to the Summit, Dr Adam Watson explained the proposed itinerary for the day over morning coffee, while Iain Cameron (Firefly) explained his idea behind the meeting, partly as a thank you to those who have contributed to snow patch monitoring in recent seasons through filling reports and photos on Winterhighland over the summer months.

As part of the day Adam Watson then introduced Willie Meston a manager at Glenshee who spoke about the company, Glenshee Ski Area and the season just past, there was then a question and answer session about Glenshee. Some of the questions were from recurring themes on the Winterhighland Forum and some of these were answered by the A4 handouts from Willie Meston.

Willie Meston gave a brief presentation on snow management at Glenshee, the principle method being the snow fencing, then grooming and snow farming with the Piste Bashers and finally the limited snow making capability that is primarily used on the Claybokie run.

Key points from this:

• Snow fence management and repair is a major undertaking, Glenshee are currently replacing between 1000 and 2000m of snow fencing per year.
• 1km of snow fencing was replaced on Glas Maol in summer 2008 including extensive repairs to the fenced traverse from the top of the Poma out to Centre Gully.
• Newest Piste Basher is a 10year old Kassbohrer.
• Different wind directions favour different fence lines and parts of the Ski Area.

Existing snow making system:

• Entirely manual system, staff have to be on site to start up and stop the system.
• Constant adjustments needed as temperature, humidity and wind fluctuate. Staff need to keep a constant watch as a sudden change in temperature could result in the guns blowing out water and ruining the existing snow by turning it into sheet ice.
• A small water storage pond between the foot of the Cairnwell T-bar and Claybokie Poma.
• The six manual fan guns used on Claybokie have a start up wet bulb temperature of -3°c, but -5 or lower is better.
• In clear settled weather conditions with light winds such as under high pressures temperature inversions can be an issue, temperatures down to double digits below 0°c in Braemar but above freezing on the mountain.
• Requires significant electricity input and Glenshee has to generate own power. System for Claybokie consists of the fan guns which are rated 30kW each, a 150kW water pump and uses a 380kVA generator.

Snow Making on the Claybokie on 31st Dec 2008.

Why & how was the Tiger Tow Removed:

Tiger T-bar taken out of service for safety reasons due to steepness and difficulty of up-track, to many serious accidents with the situation described as almost an incident every time the tow was switched on.

Towers were dropped out of the ski season and when there was sufficient snow on the ground Piste Bashers went down the line and were used to remove the towers from the hill-side.

Is there any life expectancy issue with the Cairnwell lifts, esp. the Chairlift?

All the existing lifts remain serviceable, however (as has already happened with the Cairnwell and Carn Aosda T-bars where the old diesel drives have been replaced by electric drives) the remaining diesel drives could be replaced in future. Cairnwell Chairlift will under go a refurbishment if it is remaining in long term operation.

Will the Courrour Poma operate again?

Courrour Poma has not operated for 8 years and it is unlikely to operate again in it’s current location. Subject to funds being available it could be moved to a more useful location, potentially to double up Butchart’s (T-bar or Poma). Decommissioned lifts being used as spares. Some newer poma tower work platforms have been removed and placed on older towers to make work on the lifts easier.

State of play with Meall Odhar T-bar and Pomas

Meall Odhar T-bar and Caenlochan Poma

Issue raised about redundancy and capacity issues as this has been a bottleneck in recent seasons.

Willie stated that the Meall Odhar T-bar would be serviced and that lack of time/resources meant it had not been possible to get round to it prior to the arrival of snow last season. Plans for future refurbishment of the T-bar with a new electric drive to replace the old diesel drive with external gear box - as with Butchart’s T-bar, more efficient, easier to maintain, more reliable and less diesel storage sites to maintain with electric drives. T-bar generally would be used as back up and for extra capacity at peak times as boarders prefer easier access over the back from the Caenlochan.

Also mentioned with regard stoppages that the Caenlochan line was considerably more exposed than the other two lifts.

Mention that Meall Odhar and Butchart’s T-bars could receive ‘redundant’ electric drive stations from CML.

Reliance of Surface Uplift for access to Glas Maol and Fionn Coire

The discussion over lifts on Meall Odhar brought the discussion onto the subject of the problem of not being able to access the reliable snow fields and runs in Coire Fionn due to runs/uptracks on the way over being incomplete.

Glenshee have a proposal for a Meall Odhar Chairlift to replace the Meall Odhar Poma on a slightly different alignment to the poma. Would need further good seasons to have funds to install such a lift.

Devil’s Elbow and/or Centre Gully Access Lift?

In the 1980s a detailed proposal was worked up for the installation of an access Chairlift from the Devils Elbow to the foot of the Meall Odhar T-bar. This would have addressed the access problem from the South where the road is more prone to closure in snowy weather than the road from the North.

Company concerned about extent to which such a plan would divide the Ski Area base facilities, without adequately dealing with the Glas Maol access issue. Meall Odhar or Coire Fionn could still be broken, while Glas Maol skiable, but still not accessible.

Late 80’s into the 90’s idea surfaced for an alternative Northern approach for a low level access lift, from the North side of the Ski Area. A new chairlift would head from the A93 up Centre Gully to the foot of the Glas Maol and Coire Fionn Pomas providing access to both without relying on either being complete. This remains a potential long term objective and is considered the best solution to the issue of reliable access to Glas Maol, but leaves open the companies concerns about splitting the base facilities.

Glas Maol Summit from A93. Chairlift would largely be out of sight in Centre Gully.

Alternative lower cost solution to improving Access to Coire Fionn

All potential solutions have the issue of funding. An alternative approach is to extend the Sunnyside Chairlift towards the Meall Odhar Cafe, providing an easier interchange with a Meall Odhar Chairlift. This would would enable access to Coire Fionn regardless of snow conditions on Sunnyside, Cluny/Tom Dearg and Meall Odhar. However Glas Maol could still be inaccessible in this scenario.

Signage

Donald Morris brought up the subject of signage along with with the Gaelic bi-lingual signs which were put up this season just past. As a result of increased holiday visitors rather than local day trippers this season, navigation around the Ski Area has been an issue and new piste direction signage and extra instruction signs on correct use of the T-bars is planned.

Summer Activities, Mountain Biking?

Cafe at the road side is open daily following the refurbishment prior to last season. Cairnwell Chairlift will operate daily during the summer from Mid June this year.

Glenshee plan to use the Chairlift for downhill mountain biking using the existing estate landrover tracks on the Cairnwell side. Plans to add features to the sides of the track to enable the track to still be used, this means riders can easily avoid any feature without dismounting.

Other Plans / Issues for Glenshee?

Adam Watson mentioned the issue of Glenshee suffering in terms of funding support due to being the only Scottish Ski Area wholly outside of the HIE area. This contrasts to the situation at CairnGorm and Nevis Range and to a lesser extent at Glencoe and the Lecht where HIE has funded or contributed to funding of infrastructural improvements.

Willie Meston stated that another small lift that is a high priority is to install a short Chairlift between the Ticket Office building and the Cairnwell Cafe. This would make a huge difference to visitation in limited snow cover, as numbers drop dramatically if people have to walk to the Cafe. This is esp true when skiing is on machine made snow on Claybokie. Increased ski numbers in such situations would allow increased use of snow making and in good conditions remove the bottle neck at the Plastic Slope Poma.

The chairlift is currently sitting at the end of the Car Park adjacent to the Dink Dink Poma. There is not a current costing for it’s installation, though this is being looked at. New rules on installations (EU Cableways Directive etc) mean increased costs to bring lift up to scratch.

For other potential lift projects, Willie Meston mentioned the extent of availability of second hand lifts that are relatively modern at low cost if they can be transported from mainland Europe due to many French resorts replacing uplift on a 15year cycle.

Cairnwell Chairlift

Discussions were wrapped up with Iain Cameron and Dr Adam Watson leading the thank you to Willie Meston for his time and for allowing use of the Chairlift. The group then headed up the Cairnwell Chairlift before walking to the Summit where the fantastic visibility gave excellent views in every direction. Adam and Iain are preparing a full account of the walk about and afternoon discussions and site visits in Glen Clunie which will be made available in due course.

On behalf of all participants may I once again thank Glenshee for hosting the day, Iain Cameron for setting the ball in motion and organising the day and Adam Watson for a fascinating and informative day.

update 3/06/09: The SSC Hut AWS is up and running with temperature, humidity and air pressure at this time.  Replacement connectors for the wind sensor and rain gauge are on order, but not in stock with the suppliers. A full service will be restored as soon as possible.

With fresh drifts lying on CairnGorm Mountain, there was a distinct nip in the air this evening while walking up to the Scottish Ski Club Hut at 2500ft by the foot of the White Lady.

Saturday’s trip was undertaken to move the SSC Hut webcams to their summer positions, this is partly to give a more interesting wider view from the mountain outwith the Snowsports Season, but also to reduce camera exposure to direct sunlight looking Southwards up the White Lady during Summer.

The Lady Camera looks out the opposite end of the hut during Summer giving a view over the Kassbohrer garage and lower slopes towards Aviemore. Around dawn and dusk the lights of Aviemore can be seen centre picture when visibility is good, while the partly hidden Loch Morlich is visible to the middle right of the image.

Newly upgraded Balcony Cam

The SSC Hut Balcony Cam has been upgraded to a higher resolution 2mp auto focus camera, from the older fixed focus camera that has served us well the past 2 winters. The higher resolution and auto focus will give crisper images, but due to very limited bandwidth it’s not possible to increase image sizes just now. (But this is being looked at for the future).

During Summer the balcony camera is turned round by approximately 90 degrees to give a partially uphill view, since the other camera is looking downhill.

Weather Station Upgrade & Repairs

During winter the wind sensor array at the SSC hut suffered from an intermittent fault, which only occurred in thaw conditions following on from a cold spell with powdery snow. The anemometer then functioned when either temps went back below freezing or it became warmer and drier, suggestive that water ingress into the AWS unit from drifting snow accumulating inside the thermometer’s radiation shield then subsequently melting was a contributing factor.

On inspection the internal connector plugs in the AWS are starting to corrode and the wind vane cable has been damaged during winter. The main sensor array unit has been taken off site to have the connector modules replaced and this will be carried out during the coming week. A new cup anemometer unit was installed on Saturday afternoon, ready for the return of the main AWS Unit and it is hoped to have the weather station along with the upgraded aneometer back online by mid May for Summer.

This afternoon myself and Keith from Loch Morlich Water Sports installed a new Automatic Weather Station at Loch Morlich at an altitude of 1050ft (or 320m for those who try to make the hills look smaller than they are).

Coupled with Winterhighland’s other the AWS at the SSC Hut at 2500ft up on the ‘Gorm along with CML’s AWS on the Funicular Tunnel Mouth at 3400ft and the Met Office and Herriot Watt Unis Summit AWS there is now  (and  possibly uniquely in the UK) a good  vertical spread in live weather reporting stations on CairnGorm Mountain from the Glen to the Summit.

Take together these should provide a great resouce for monitoring how conditions are changing and provide a useful tool for helping plan weather dependent activities year round.

It is also hoped that they will taken together with longer standing manual records allow for a better understanding of the climate on CairnGorm Mountain and how the weather varies spatially and altitudinally on the mountain, helping with planning for the future of snowsports on the ‘Gorm.

For any one interested in some of the technical details, the Weather Station at Loch Morlich is a Technoline WS2300 with data handling and upload undertaken by a PII running Xubuntu linux with the Open2300 open source command line applications.

The AWS at the SSC Hut on CairnGorm Mountain is a WS3600 with propeller anemometer using the Open3600 software suite.

SSC & L. Morlich AWS www.winterhighland.info/cairngorm .

The Funicular Tunnel AWS  www.cairngormmountain.co.uk .

Herriot Watt Summit AWS www.phy.hw.ac.uk/resrev/weather.htm .

Please visit Loch Morlich Water Sports , once again many thanks for your help in making it possible to get live weather data from Glenmore.

There’s been a recurring issue over the past few days witn the wind data dropping out from the Ski Club Hut automatic weather station on CairnGorm Mountain.

The intermittent rather than constant nature of the problem suggests a poor connection and/or damaged wiring is to blame. The anemometer has functioned when temps have been lowest, suggestive that water ingress into the AWS unit might be a contributing factor.

Weather permitting if the forecast lull does indeed come over during Saturday the Weather Station will be taken apart and checked out, connections cleaned out, cables checked and hopefully it will function OK given the predicated storms. The weather station will if time/weather allows also be switched over to cable link rather than radio link which should improve reporting of stronger gusts due to more frequent sampling.

The mariginal nature of the snow event at times though means the likelyhood of wet driving snow for a time at the SSC Hut level which greatly increases the potential risk for anemometer icing. If anyone has a couple of grand going spare for a heated sensor array, drop us a line!

The router and comms equipment in the SSC hut was shutdown and reset on Thursday afternoon and the Ski Club Hut cameras on CairnGorm Mountain are back on-line and functioning normally.

A replacement webcam box has been installed in Mountain Spirit in Aviemore and we now once again have a low level view looking along Grampian Road in the direction of the Ski Road Roundabout to distant hills. This camera is useful for gauging low level snow events and also early morning check-ups on non-trunk road conditions in wintry weather. The Mountain Spirit webcam is online 24/7 due to it viewing a street lit area.

An additional view looking over the Strath to the Northern Cairngorms will be available shortly, also from Mountain Spirit.