As of 25th February raw figures from the report database:

1. [CG] CairnGorm Funicular open for 68 days
2. [LT] Wren Tow open for 57 days
3. [GS] Cairnwell Ski Tow open for 57 days
4. [LT] Bunting Magic Carpet open for 57 days
5. [LT] Grouse Poma open for 56 days
6. [LT] Eagle Poma open for 56 days
7. [NR] Gondola open for 55 days
8. [LT] Snowy Owl Chairlift open for 55 days
9. [CG] Coire Cas T-Bar open for 54 days
10. [GS] Butchart's Access Poma open for 52 days
11. [LT] Robin Tow open for 52 days
12. [NR] Alpha Tow open for 50 days
13. [GC] Access Chairlift open for 50 days
14. [GC] Main Basin T-Bar open for 48 days
15. [CG] Ptarmigan Ski Tow open for 47 days
16. [GC] Wall Ski Tow open for 46 days
17. [GS] Dink Dink Poma open for 46 days
18. [CG] Coire Na Ciste Tow open for 46 days
19. [NR] Trainer Rope Tow open for 44 days
20. [GS] Claybokie Poma open for 43 days
21. [GC] Plateau Poma open for 43 days
22. [GC] Cliffhanger Chairlift open for 40 days
23. [LT] Kestrel Poma open for 39 days
24. [LT] Falcon Poma open for 38 days
25. [GS] Sunnyside Poma 1 open for 35 days
26. [NR] Snowgoose Ski Tow open for 35 days
27. [CG] Trainer Tow open for 34 days
28. [GS] Tom Dearg Poma open for 33 days
29. [NR] Summit Ski Tow open for 33 days
30. [NR] Snowgoose Quad open for 32 days
31. [GS] Plastic Slope Poma open for 31 days
32. [GC] Plateau Rope Tow open for 28 days
33. [GS] Baddoch Chairlift open for 27 days
34. [LT] Osprey Poma open for 26 days
35. [GS] Beag Poma open for 24 days
36. [GS] Caenlochan Poma open for 23 days
37. [GS] Coire Fionn Poma 1 open for 21 days
38. [GS] Sunnyside Poma 2 open for 21 days
39. [GS] Cluny Poma 1 open for 19 days
40. [GS] Butcharts Ski Tow open for 14 days
41. [GS] Sunnyside Chairlift open for 14 days
42. [GS] Coire Fionn Poma 2 open for 13 days
43. [CG] M1 Poma open for 10 days
44. [LT] Rail Park open for 10 days
45. [NR] Linnhe Tow open for 10 days
46. [GS] Cairnwell Chairlift open for 8 days
47. [CG] CarPark Ski Tow open for 7 days
48. [CG] Fiacaill Ridge Poma open for 6 days
49. [CG] West Wall Poma open for 6 days
50. [CG] Sheiling Trainer Tow open for 6 days
51. [LT] Harrier Poma open for 6 days
52. [GC] Top Button Tow open for 5 days
53. [LT] Eaglet Poma open for 4 days
54. [LT] Buzzard Poma open for 3 days
55. [NR] Braveheart Chairlift open for 3 days
56. [NR] Warrens Ski Tow open for 1 days
57. [LT] Tubing Park open for 0 days
58. [CG] DayLodge Poma open for 0 days
59. [LT] Petrel open for 0 days
60. [GS] Beginner Rope Tow open for 0 days
61. [NR] Lochy Button open for 0 days
62. [GS] Glas Maol Poma open for 0 days
63. [GS] Meall Odhar Ski Tow open for 0 days
64. [GS] Cluny Poma 2 open for 0 days
65. [NR] Rob Roy Ski Tow open for 0 days
66. [NR] Great Glen Chairlift open for 0 days
67. [GS] Meall Odhar Poma open for 0 days
68. [GS] Corrour Poma open for 0 days
69. [GS] Carn Aosda Ski Tow open for 0 days
70. [CG] West Wall Chairlift open for 0 days
71. [CG] Lower Ciste Chairlift open for 0 days




Edited 1 times. Last edit at 22.28hrs Sat 25 Feb 12 by alan.

Sadly, even if there'd been a metre of powder on a 3-metre base ... for the past couple of months ... Nos.70&71 might not have improved in the rankings!



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 09.51hrs Sun 26 Feb 12 by David Goldsmith.

No. 68, 70, 71 are decomissioned and hardly count. Arguably so is 63.



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 18.05hrs Thu 8 Mar 12 by cammyammy.

Any news on what skier day numbers are looking like?

Surely to god there will be some lift served riding in March and April though the present break and perception in some quarters the season is over will not help.

As of 26th February (last day of snowsports operation ) CairnGorm Mountain stood at 42,000 skier days.

At the turn of the month Glencoe was significantly ahead of the same point in the 2011 season, but hasn't skied since 19th Feb. However in both the last two seasons the significant bulk of the skier days came in the spring, so fingers crossed for a return to winter!

Should add that wrt CairnGorm, the figure means the five year rolling average will again climb at the close of this season, no matter what happens from here on in. The 2007 total has been surpassed and CML were working on a 55,000 skier day budget - which is still very achievable unless we have an unprecedented spring.



Edited 3 times. Last edit at 00.16hrs Thu 8 Mar 12 by alan.

with work and moving house i`ve had 1 skier day so far and it was at glenshee in January where I didnt ski on 1 bit of snow, it was all ice. GUTTED.

I wasnt going abroad this year but it getting to that point where i`m going to have to find some money and re-address the situation.

Is that supposed to represent actual visitors to the hill or does it include a nominal number of days per season pass holder?



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 17.13hrs Thu 8 Mar 12 by mdearman.

AFAIK the 42,000 doesn't include season ticket holders.

I had planned to come up to Scotland last week for some turns, instead I ended up with a last minute booking to go to Austria. Right now it looks like my Scottish skiing days will be 0 this year, that last time that happened was 2007. Gutted...

What a great use of money these lifts were, I'm not a frequent visitor but can't recall them running on any of my visits over the past 5 years!

65. [NR] Rob Roy Ski Tow open for 0 days
66. [NR] Great Glen Chairlift open for 0 days

and this figure is criminal, they should run this alot more regularly and market the heck out of it being a complete off piste playground

55. [NR] Braveheart Chairlift open for 3 days


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Fair points, from the very little I understand about Nevis Range (I went to the opening of the gondola, which was pre-season, and one other time when the hill was being lashed with rain and had one precious ride up a longish t-bar).

I get the impression that some of the lifts on Nevis went up in too much of a rush, with insufficient study of long-term snow deposition trends. It's ironic that two of those lifts are chairs, installed (as I recall) as the second stage of Nevis's development ... which would be so much value in replacing the Ciste and West Wall chairs on Cairngorm (originally installed about 20 years before the Nevis's second phase got going. They would presumably be doing 10 times more work on Cairngorm.

These chairs would be of no value in replacing the Ciste and West Wall Chairs, if anything they might even be older.

The Braveheart Chair did initially spin pretty regularly for a few years and as I've said several times before I've never ridden the lift when you could even get close to skiing out and probably the majority of my days riding it have been in May!

To start with the entrances at BackTrack and Winger Wall were much more extensively managed, with Wingers Wall frequently pisted. There were also a higher number of patrollers on the mountain at any one time. Nevis no longer have the equipment to piste the headwall of Coire Dubh and this also removes one potential means of casualty evacuation. Without that option and fewer ski patrol on the mountain most days, it would not be possible for patrol to evacuate a casualty from Coire Dubh and continue to patrol the front of the mountain.

This lead to a change in operating criteria where the Chair only run if you could ski out to the front of the mountain, though last season the Braveheart was for the first time in quite a long time opened under the 'not patrolled' status.

Another factor is the Great Glen Chairlift. The Rob Roy T-bar was put in to provide a more snow sure novice to early intermediate slope, with the chair providing access to it and when no snow on Rob Roy's return the Chairlift also provided a return for those coming out of Coire Dubh.

Subsequently a dry slope was laid on the Alpha Tow which has been used by ski school in preference to Rob Roy, one liftie for the Alpha Tow is cheaper than 2 for the chairlift and one for the T-bar, but means the GG Chair is not available to aid return to the front of the mountain.

It all adds up to contribute to the very infrequent use of the Braveheart, which in turn has nullified the effect the Back Corries had in the early days of getting larger numbers of people to visit Nevis Range.

In recent seasons there has been days Glencoe has been pushing a 1000 that Nevis has struggled to pass 100 on the hill, the terrible skier day figures both drive cost cutting, yet the cost cutting in lift operations perpetuate terrible skier day figures. Answers on a postcard?

As an aside, people like to bash CML for being a waste of public money. The Great Glen and Braveheart Chairlifts were grant funded. While they individually cost a fraction of the funicular, I wonder what the figure of public funding per day of operation comes out for each of the 3?

A more exact figure for CairnGorm Mountain to date, 44,783. Funicular visitors over the period were at 26,500 up from 19,500 for the corresponding period in the 2010/11 winter.

There was some gnashing of teeth about the significant drop in funicular visitation in 2010, the fact that figure has rebounded significantly in a poor ski season may underline the effect that there is an element of holiday visitation to Strathspey that will visit the mountain and whether they ride the train or ski will depend on weather and snow conditions at the time.

That is interesting because obviously there is a huge captive market for CML to tap into during the Christmas, February Half Term and Easter Holidays when Aviemore is packed to the rafters. Not just for the fact that a ski visit generates significantly more income for CML than a funicular visit, but those on holiday will likely ski multiple days, but only ride the funicular once during their stay.

I understand that Glenshee cant get funding from the HIE, but is there a reason why it cant get any other funding. I mean the Braveheart chairlift, or the Great Glen Chairlift would get alot more use going up to Meal Odhar.

Why cant Glenshee get the funding?