•Glencoe Sledge Park

•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

Tuesday's ridge of high pressure will slip a bit further East than previously forecast on Wednesday, some drizzle will reach the West Highlands, and later the Southern Cairngorms. Strong Southerly off the Plateau may affect higher lifts on CairnGorm.

Been out on the slopes - please send us your photos to the email address at the foot of this page.

There was more high level cloud around on Tuesday than forecast at the weekend, for all it was a bright day with little wind and some sunny periods, a fairly stubborn sheet of high level cloud persisted above Glencoe for a good chunk of the day, but did break up more quickly over the Cairngorms. That meant it was both slightly cooler and less sunny than previously forecast in the West, thus the snowpack on the upper mountain at Glencoe did not loosen up as had been hoped.

In the East at CairnGorm and Glenshee, things started pretty hard, recently pisted terrain was where to start, things groomed the previous evening had set up smooth but firm. However the snowpack did start to loosen a bit more widely as the sun got to work as the afternoon went on, but no such luck in the West where away from the pisted lines on the Main Basin and Happy Valley the snow on the upper mountain stayed sold.

The ridge of high pressure is now expected to drift a bit further East than was forecast 24 to 36 hours ago for Wednesday. so while the Northern Cairngorms may still escape with at least a mostly dry day, a weakening weather front is set to edge into the West bringing milder air and some drizzle, this will push into the Southern Cairngorms as well.

The flip is that while the overhead wont be as nice, the snow beyond the pisting should be become nicer to ride on, but with clear skies this evening, the snowpack will start hard across the board, but is expected to start loosening up to smooth granular spring snow as the milder and slightly damp air moves in!

For more advanced riders, Glencoe, CairnGorm or Glenshee are all good options, with Glenshee having the most extensive terrain, but slightly constrained on Tuesday due to an issue with the Fionn Pomas. For early intermediates comfortable with longer greens and easier blues, whether CairnGorm or Glenshee is best depends largely on how comfortable you are riding Pomas! For novices, the Lecht and CairnGorm have the advantage of magic carpets, but the beginner area at Glenshee remains in good condition too.

CairnGorm has the advantage of the whole Cas side, being available from the funicular, with the funicular planned to make middle stops. The White Lady (red) and M1 (red) are in great shape, the Ciste Gully is loaded, but as there is no route to the West Wall Poma (which is not operating), the gully has remained largely closed.

At Glenshee, Meall Odhar in particular has been one huge spring snow playground once things loosened up. The Coire Fionn Pomas made their season debut on Saturday, the whole bowl from the top of Caenlochan to the base of the Fionn Pomas is in play once they reopen. The loop from the top of Caenlochan via the Home Run and Tom Dearg and back up again is in great shape for blue level terrain. The Cairnwell side is currently closed except the Plastic Slope and beginner area.

At Glencoe the action is mainly on the upper mountain, so really is only suited to those comfortable with the more challenging end of the blue spectrum and above in terms of terrain. But with so much SE wind, the upper mountain is a bit back to front, so still the opportunity to ride parts of Meall a Bhuiridh that are not skiable all that often! See photos for full report. A short walk is required to return to the Cliffhanger and Plateau Cafe from Old Mugs Alley, the Cliffhanger Chair should be considered just for access presently.

Nevis Range is closed for lift served snowsports.

:: Glencoe Sledge Park

The Sledge Park is full length and in good shape thanks to snow making from the snow factory. There are over 150 sledges to grab at the Plateau Cafe! It is advisable to arrive before 2pm at the latest for sledging to get a decent amount of time on the hill. First chair up at 9am, the sledge park is always quietest before 11.30am. Last chair down scheduled for 4pm.

:: England Club Fields

All the club fields are waiting for new snow to be able to reopen.

For both Weardale and Allenheads, you need to join the club with a season pass, these are still available for both at this time.

Please check club access rules / availability if not a club member / pass holder.

Weardale: https: //skiweardale.com/ .
Allenheads: http://ski-allenheads.co.uk/ .
Yad Moss: https: //yadmoss.co.uk/ .
Raise: https: //www.ldscsnowski.co.uk/ .

:: Mountain Weather

At 6pm in the West at the Glencoe SSC hut (850m) the temperature was +0.3°c, with a flat calm. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was +0.9°c. At Base level (366m) it was +2.8°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -1.5°c. The Met Office station was reporting a South East wind at 7 gusting 16mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was +2.6°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +1.9°c.

In the East the summit weather stations on CairnGorm reported -2.9°c, with a Southerly at a mean of 12 gusting 21mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was +4.8°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS reported +0.3°c with a South West wind at a mean of 14 gusting 22mph.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

The ridge of high pressure which gave a fine day on Tuesday will give a clear and frosty evening, so the snowpack will start firm to hard on Wednesday before the temperature starts to lift as the ridge of high pressure drifts eastwards. This allowing a weakening front to bring drizzle into the West Highlands and later the Southern Cairngorms.

North of the CairnGorm Plateau may escape with a dry day and the Lecht could see some sunny spells. However Southerly winds accelerating over and off the Plateau could affect higher lifts at CairnGorm, potentially gusts 50 to 60mph up top, so please check AM updates. After a chilly start, the temperature at Munro Level should rise to around +2°c by late morning and possibly a couple of degrees higher by late afternoon!

Another weak front may brush the North of Scotland on Thursday bringing cooler air, with a chance of light snow showers on the tops, the best of the brightness to the Northern side of the Cairngorms with a moderate or strong Southerly becoming WSW wind.

High pressure is expected to reassert itself for Friday and Saturday with largely clear overhead leading to diurnal freeze / thaw cycling, winds should be fairly benign on Friday, but despite an expectation for good overhead, Saturday looks like it could have strong to Gale Force Southerly winds developing.

:: Webcams and Weather Stations

Lowther Hill: Leadhills webcam is online (24/7).

GLENCOE: All mountain webcams online and the first updated images are from the Top of the Access Chair are around 6.20am, other cams come on shortly after 6.30am. Sledge Park camera streams overnight. The mid mountain weather station wind direction is not working, other data valid.