Thanks for all your hard work Peter, and to everyone else who organised the ski orienteering. It's a shame the snow was dissapearing so quickly, but at least most of the main trails seemed to be lasting the day.

It would have been nice to get onto the better snow on the Haute Route, but my son was determined to try and be competitive on the short course rather than plod round the long course with me, and he was too tired for another ski after lunch.

It doesn't look like the remaining snow is going to last. Hopefully the next fall wont be too far off.



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 18.55hrs Sat 7 Jan 12 by P.Clark.

Hopefully the upper trails at least will last overnight....?

Timberline I hope you mentioned your 25second penalty because you stopped to talk to me.. sorry didnt realize you were still competing...

"Competing" is almost an exaggeration, Telemarker, but the compliment is appreciated. 3 of us went round collecting the more remote control markers at the end of the day, finishing by the light of an almost full moon and with Jupiter as a beacon. We had some brilliant downhills on those parts of the trails we knew to be in good shape. Being unable to see (or worry about) the surface detail fosters responsiveness to what's actually happening under the skis!

It has to be said that the trails are now broken, but there were still long stretches of skiable snow today -- somewhat soggy in places, and not currently the place for one's best gear. Some snow will undoubtedly survive overnight. Car park was very icy this morning and may be likewise on Sunday.

The Ski O was good fun today - some of the best snow was beyond Picadilly. First two piccies are of some of the best skiing. Final picture shows one of the winning team skiing on the grass.



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 20.29hrs Sat 7 Jan 12 by dhorsley.

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Paul - glad you enjoyed the Ski O. You do realise that this is probably the last time you will beat your son.

Andrew - thank you for informing on Timberline. He knows it is a disciplinary offence to stop & chat in the middle of a race!

The snow has returned to the Clash averaging 6-7cm snow on the trails. The trails have not been groomed.

There are some thin/bare patches & the upper part of Leids Leap was unskiable.

Today conditions were very variable, with altitude being the main factor. The lower trails had many bare patches, and thin cover (1-5cm) in places, but becoming slushy. Highland Fling was in good shape with 5cm throughout. On parts of the Haute Route, depths were up to 8cm, with a fresh dusting from a heavy snow shower this afternoon. However, Leids Leap was bare from the top down to the Hedder Wye junction.Temperature at car park at 2.30pm was plus 3. For Sunday, with more precipitation expected, it's going to be a question of "wait and see" as everything depends on the freezing level.

Conditions today were much improved. The lower trails were thin with wet snow 2-5cms deep, but most main trails were skiable with care on old skis. Upper trails were better with 5-10cms of sticky snow. Leids leap was skiable with care, I broke through to the rocks in a couple of places though. We skiied a full Haute Route, out via Norman's Way, up Herring bone Hill and back down Leids Leap, Deer Track, and Classic Start. Temperature at car park was ~2C and along the Haute route it was just above freezing. We had a mix of sunshine and snow showers.

The FCS have been in with a vehicle to remove fallen trees, and have done a good job. The vehicle tracks weren't a problem - if anything they were an advantage giving a packed track to ski in. All in all a pretty good days skiing.

Yes it was good on the higher trails. I am suprised so many went out along the lower trails. Turning left after the carpark and straight up Leids leap and along haute route and back seemed a better option, with deeper and drier snow.

Hi telemarker,

It was pretty decent skiing along the lower trails (on my rock skis). I didn't take them off once. Couple of sections I took to the grass at the side of the track and a couple of the thinner areas I took slowly just in case. I thought it was worth the risk for a longer more varied ski. Not sure how well they will have held up as the low level snow was dissapperaing fast outside the forest, though the section of trails near the Biathlon range were still skiable when we left early afternoon. Here's hoping we get a decent snow fall tonight and not too much snow loss on Wednesday.

An early frost crisped up the trails today, giving excellent skiing on Highland Fling and most of the Haute Route. Thin sections, which were slushy yesterday, have become icy. Leids Leap remains tricky and needs a few more centimetres of snow for comfort. Occasional snow flurries today were encouraging.

Clash was skiable yesterday, but defintely a day for the old skis as there were many thin areas. Higher up was much better. Nice to get out for a Clashindaroch february ski for a few hours on fresh snow with some sunshine
Sadly I suspect the snow will melt fast today....

Or should that be 2012-2013? The overnight snow brought 25cm to Clashindarroch -- the first decent skiing since January and possibly the deepest snow cover this winter. Good to see several parties out making the most of it. Snow today was sticky but may improve overnight if there's a frost. Car park was ploughed today.

Thanks Colin for info

Jason and I were saying on the train into Aberdeen that you would be posting a report later!

might try Gartly later,

Helped by a slight frost and further light snowfall, with a late morning temperature of plus 1, there's been no loss of snow at Clashindarroch today. Skiing on the trails was much better than yesterday due to the snow consolidating and the tramlines being well-used, so there should still be some worthwhile skiing on Thursday. Off piste was a different story -- the Timberline and Snowgoose route proved a struggle through 30cm of unconsolidated snow. For Telemarker's interest, here's a picture of the Buck this afternoon, with quite a lot of heather showing through.

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