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Blue sky storm at the start of the day - note the blowing snow. Only Funicular first thing and the Polar Express!
Going up the M1 Poma in the afternoon.
Looking over the White Lady in late afternoon sunshine - pick of the day for more experienced riders.
Not a cloud in the sky and much lighter wind at the end of the day - looking back up CairnGorm.
M1 Poma basking in the spring sunshine!
Top of the Ptarmigan Traverse, note park features now out - with some big kickers in the Bowl.
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Report
A fairly wild morning on CairnGorm with a Severe Gale Force Southerly accelerating off the Plateau, initially limited uplift for the main runs to just the Funicular and then the Ptarmigan Tow in the Top Basin as wind went more SW. Into the afternoon the wind eased, allowing the Cas T-bar and M1 Poma to come on. Lighter winds are forecast for Sunday, though still breezy around the tops, the Northern Cairngorms should have the best of the overhead on Sunday.
Top Basin is in good condition and there is now a sizeable terrain park in the Ptarmigan Bowl for spring featuring a mix of rails / boxes and kickers for different ability levels.
There is a mix of red and green/blue routes from the Ptarmigan Restaurant to the mid-station via the White Lady (red) which was reported as the pick of the day, the M1 RaceTrack is full width above the timing hut, but narrower below. The Traverse is in good shape, and the best route is the 105 as the mid-section of Coire Cas is very narrow - a common theme in winters where snowfall has been dominated by East/SE wind! In contrast the Cas Gunbarrel is decidedly tame, level and well filled.
People are still making it to the base but there are some combat sections on the Carpark Run and they are officially closed. It looks like from this evenings report that the lower SnowBadger magic carpet is now closed, so for novices the Top Basin around the Polar Express Poma is where to head if going to CairnGorm.
Thanks to Joseph Coane for the photos. If you have been out on the slopes please email photos / reports to the email address in the footer! Thanks in advance.