Snow line going down the mountain then Helen With the wind picking up the next couple of days & the FL dropping further, I wonder if there's 1/2 a hope that the Ciste gully might be filled ready for the weekend. That'd really be something after a poo-poo season for Cairngorm.

Tomorrow is the day the 2012 season outlasts the 2011 season, which drew to a close on CairnGorm Mountain at close of play on 25th April with half the Ptarmgain Tow!

My last and only chance to get to Cairngorm until next Wednesday is tomorrow. 2hr drive, blizzard forecast... Would you?

I'll have my nose in several piles of web code tomorrow, but if tomorrow was my only shot I'd be ready to go and waiting for info.

Tonight's London Evening Standard reports ...

"Heavy snow fell in the Scottish Highland [sic], with ski resorts said to be enjoying the best conditions of the season."

Expect thousands to arrive on the overnight sleepers!

Surely some mistake there David?





My emphasis above. I must have imagined my day's sliding on CairnGorm?
[www.winterhighland.info]



Edited 3 times. Last edit at 00.02hrs Thu 26 Apr 12 by alan.

Attachments: scgb.png (162kB)  

The SCGB do mreo harm than good for scottish skiing. They would be better removing all reference to scottish skiing from their website the amount of times they get it wrong!

Fingers crossed they get the train running for mid mountain skiing today for those of you that can make it. From today's report too windy and drifting for the top runs. Be nice if they can get a pisted run down to mid station.

Purely out of personal interest what would you go for, Lady, Cas (gun barrel), M1, 105.

Me I would go for it in this order - Lady, traverse - 105, M1. Might not be the best order to suit most people. But to get the Lady listed as open this late in the season awesome.

Lady first as this would give more variation than M1, then Traverse - 105 as restful run - and then the M1.

Interestingly, Cairngorm is now reporting that the M1 poma will operate ... on 26 April. Would be interesting to know when the M1 last ran in the closing days of April.

What an amazingly topsy-turvy winter!

I've used the M1 poma when skiing Mayday holidays in 2008 and 2010 so certainly not particularly uncommon to have it open late April.

As it goes, the M1 was also running on Sunday, even before this new snow. In fact, it was the only way up the hill for the first hour until the choo-choo was fixed and probably 200 people hiked up to the mid-station before 11 so as they could use it.

What's the opinion on how busy Cairngorm might be this weekend. Things are normally pretty quiet after easter, but with the big break in skiing do people think it might be mobbed? I might take my two young kids up, in which case we'll be staying in the top bowl. How busy was it last weekend?

Thanks for any info.

Dunc

No queues on M1 poma last weekend but double-queuing & 10 minute waits for drags in top bowl. If the Cas gets opened (and I can't see why it wouldn't), I'd guess there's be no congestion anywhere as there'd probably only be a few hundred on the hill.

Wow! I'm gobsmacked! I really didn't expect to see this this season :O



Let's hope for more of the same

I was up on Sunday (couldn't reist 15 quid tickets!) with my 4 year old. It was quite busy , esp mid morning with double queues around 10 mins waiting on average i'd say for the top t-bars.
i didn't head to the M1 but i went for a bit off piste from the summit which was excellent.
Seemed to get quieter later on though.

In passing, concerning the SCGB situation again. This email has just been sent:
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To Alyn Morgan, Information Manager, Ski Club of Great Britain

Dear Alyn

I've written to you several times this season concerning inaccurate Scottish snow reporting.

This week, the Ski Club reported (Monday 23 April, Snow Overview) that Cairngorm was "temporarily closed". Cairngorm was open on Monday - hence the fact that there are photos of people skiing up there on Monday and using lifts:

[www.winterhighland.info]

Today, 26 April, the Club reports (the report is timed for 13.30, 25 April) the mountain "temporarily closed" again, despite the fact that skiers were up there yesterday - and are up there again today, using the funicular for access to the high mountain and the mid-station of the funicular for return laps. The M1 poma reopened today. Hilly (a Winterhighland contributor) reported yesterday evening:

"Snowed all the time today.
By the end of the day you could ski the Lady down to the mid station without worrying about rocks. Quite windy up top and very poor visibility until well down the runs - attached photo was about the level you got to see, but what a wonderful sight."

Photo: [www.winterhighland.info]

I've asked on previous occasions for you to explain how Scottish snow data reaches the Club - mainly because of inaccurate reports about Glencoe - but you've declined to give this information. It's clear that all the Club has to do is refer to Winterhighland and other sources to obtain accurate information from people who are actually on the mountains or are in direct contact with those who are. Or it needs a Scottish snow reporter who simply understands what is happening on Scottish mountains. The Club is 109 years old and was largely founded on these mountains, and is - after all - the Ski Club of Great Britain.

The situation on Cairngorm has been transformed by the recent snowfall, and British skiers should be aware of this!

This email is copied to the Cairngorm Snow thread on Winterhighland.

Yours

David
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