•Glencoe Sledge Park

•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

It is the Glencoe Gathering weekend, Djs playing in the base cafe on Friday evening to warm you up for the weekend, so even more reason to take advantage of the decent forecast. Saturday will be the best day of the weekend weather wise, with music at the event rail park and in the White Corries Cafe on Saturday evening.

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

After a sustained period of frequently strong winds and mild temperatures, the weather is set to give us a break Friday and Saturday as a ridge of high pressure moves through. Saturday is set to have the brightest overhead, while Friday may have some snow showers before the rising pressure dampens these down, but Friday may offer the best riding as the cooling temperature and less frequent showers allow the snow to dry out and start to crunch up, but without setting up particularly firm.

With an overnight frost down into the glens and sub zero on at least mid to upper level terrain on Saturday, expecting things to be pretty firm. But the snow was turning more granular, so hopefully grippier hard than full boilerplate ! Good edges and going where recently groomed, or following the sun will potentially get better turns on Saturday.

While the overhead wont be anywhere near as nice, providing the wind doesnt ramp up too quickly, Sunday may actually give better underski conditions as the freezing level goes back above the tops, the snowpack will loosen up and each freeze / thaw cycle helps morph the surface into truer granular spring snow. Worth noting that the best skiing this week in the West has been when its raining!

The wind really constrained things on Thursday, so what was operating later Thursday is not indicative of what should be open Friday / Saturday. Glenshee was unable to open the higher Cairnwell tows or any chairlifts, but did manage to get Caenlochan going, CairnGorm was progressively reduced to just the Cas down and ultimately just one beginner magic carpet!

There has been a considerable thaw of lower level snow, this most obvious where cover was general rather than deeper drifted cover. West aspects and higher elevations retain best cover, so the Buzzard side at the Lecht, Sunnyside and Meall Odhar at Glenshee retain far more coverage than than the opposing aspects.

For more advanced riders, Glencoe, CairnGorm or Glenshee are all good options, with Glenshee having the most extensive terrain and Meall Odhar in particular has been one huge spring snow playground.

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! It is possible to return to the Plateau Cafe via a combination of Mugs Alley and Old Mugs Alley (with some detours), but this should be considered access only and certainly not as a green piste at this time!

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! CairnGorm has the advantage of the whole Cas side, plus M2 / Daylodge run being available from the funicular - but this may be negated by the condition of the lower slopes, if posted closed and Funicular not middle stopping, then only the M2/Daylodge route can be done from the train.

The White Lady and M1 are in great shape with spring snow despite the sustained mild weather, but the recommended route to the cas Carpark is via the M2 and Daylodge Poma run which are in great shape. The Carpark runs are thin and broken in places and if you go that way you will need to unclip as things stood on Thursday.

Unfortunately there is no way out of the Ciste Gully or East Wall Gullies to the West Wall Poma, so these have mostly been shut, but may open depending on surface conditions and weather. Speak to ski patrol for the latest info. The Ciste Boardwalk was built for a very good reason!

The Lecht has been making snow to push out and freshen up the Robin and Wren magic carpet area for the weekend, but main run options are now limited, with the Eagle which is narrow in places, the main action being on the Buzzard side of the road which is still in good shape.

For novices, the Lecht and CairnGorm have the advantage of magic carpets, but the beginner area at Glenshee remains in good condition too.

Nevis Range will review possible uplift operation for snowsports on Friday morning as the gondola did not open on Thursday due to the high winds.

:: Glencoe Sledge Park

Please note that the normal sledge park will be unavailable Fri through Monday as it is the only area on the Plateau with sufficient depth to set the terrain park for the Glencoe Gathering. Potential for alternative spots on Old Mugs Alley are very limited, so this is not a good weekend to go sledging, but there will be lots going on around the Plateau Cafe to watch!

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 +3.3°c, wind at 18 gusting 62mph. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was +5.2°c. At Base level (366m) it was +7.5°c with a WSW wind at 16 gusting 59mph.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting +0.3°c. The Met Office station was reporting a South Westerly at 34 gusting 66mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was +3.3°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +7.5°c.

In the East the summit weather stations on CairnGorm reported +0.7°c, with a Storm Force South Westerly at a mean of 60 gusting 83mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was +7.8°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS reported +3.0°c with a SW wind at a mean of 46 gusting 63mph.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

Becoming cooler overnight into Friday morning with snow showers on the mountains, these will fade during the morning in the West as a transient ridge of high pressure pushes through. This will give a decent and improving Friday as it builds in from the West and widely fine Saturday for Highland mountains. However the ridge will not be hanging around and gusty winds could be picking up late Saturday afternoon / early evening in the West, before a wet and windy Sunday with a wintry mix at higher elevations.

WInd will still be fairly strong SW to West pre dawn on Friday, tending to ease as the direction veers NW ahead of the approaching ridge. Around 10 to 15mph NW becoming variable later in the West. Moderate WNW wind in the East will bring scattered snow showers into the Northern Cairngorms, before the showers eventually fade there too as pressure rises. Around 0°c at Munro Level lowering -2°c.

For Saturday, a dry day is anticipated with good periods of sunshine under light to moderate variable winds, but will become South 30 gusting 45mph from the SW late afternoon or into the evening. A cold start with a frost down into the glens and a middle of the day Munro Level temperature around -2 to -3°c. The old snow pack will be refrozen and hard packed on Saturday morning.

Strong to Gale, rising Severe Gale Force Southerly wind on Sunday, wintry showers AM, but more persistent frontal rain will push in from the SW, as the freezing level rises above the tops. Expecting Munro Level temperature to go from -2 to -1°c post dawn to at least +2°c and possibly as high as +4°c for a time. There is some uncertainty about wind speed, and the strongest winds may hold off until after dusk.

Monday will be a blustery day with snow showers for the mountains intermixed with some sunny spells, these more likely towards the North and NE, with a SW wind. Showers and wind tending to ease as the afternoon goes on, with high pressure ridging in ahead of Tuesday which is expected to be a fine and bright day with moderate winds, easing to light, with early indications suggesting Wednesday should be similar. Whether high pressure holds and builds in situ or slides East allowing fronts and strong winds to return later at least temporarily later in the week is unclear at this stage.

:: 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.