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 A reasonable width of base is now building on the upper Cas, but Gunbarrel and Zig Zags need more snow.
|  Looking to the Northern Corries across the wind scoured top of the M1 Poma, Traverse is complete from the corner, but blown clear at the Ptarmigan
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 Ptarmigan traverse to the top station, good width of cover here, but the bowl is still narrow and thin in places.
|  View up the Gully side the of the Ciste from the T-Bar, unpisted windblown freshies.
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 The Ciste Fairway is complete, still narrow in places, but there is a base here.
|  The Traverse is complete from the split with the M1, but broken above that due to wind scouring.
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 Looking up the upper Coire Cas, but the Gunbarrel needs more snow. Cas may be doable from top of Gunbarrel for weekend if wind/weather allows.
|  Hauling the rope back onto a tower after the storm!
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 Zig Zags are broken, with only narrow track of snow behind the fences, wind was to strong and blew the snow clear. Chicken Gully has some backed up behind the fences.
|  Outside the Ptarmigan has been blasted clear by the winds which were well in excess of 100mph!
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What has been a very stop start early part of the season got back underway again on CairnGorm Mountain on Thursday after the wind finally let up. Indeed it has been wind as much as the savage thaws that have prevented action so far this season, it has been exceptionally stormy.
On Thursday the main action was taking place in the Top Basin where all runs are now complete, though due to the strength of the wind there are some scoured and thus narrow/thin sections, particularly in the Ptarmigan Bowl. The fenced section of the Ptarmigan though has a fairly good width of cover along the fence line, and as it retained a base the Ciste Fairway is in reasonable shape.
For a longer run than the Ptarmigan the gully side of the Ciste is complete, and offers a slightly more challenging and interesting run than the Fairway, but do beware of the burn!
As long as weather allows there are some reasonable areas for beginners at the Top. The snow is pisted soft fresh snow, overlying a firm to hardpacked base, so there are a few hard/icy scoured areas to look out for.
Elsewhere on the mountain a partial base has been driven into some of the gullies, some fence lines, and lee slopes like the Aonach Bowl and West Wall, but these areas need more snow. It is possible to ski part of the way to the middle, but the Traverse has been blasted clear from the Ptarmigan to the top of the M1 Race Track, and it's a similar story on the Zig Zags. Upper Cas has filled quite well though, and the Cas may be a goer from the top of the Gunbarrel for the weekend if wind allows.
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