General Situation // Scottish Ski & Winter Activity Report // Winterhighland

CairnGorm and Glencoe are open daily for spring snowsports, weather permitting. Cooler conditions will progressively return during Thursday and unsettled with periods of high winds into the weekend. At present it looks as if the strongest winds will come late afternoon or overnight on both Friday and Saturday, with much of the daytime seeing lower speeds, but keep a close eye on the latest forecasts.

It was not as warm on Wednesday after the warmest day of the year in Scotland so far on Tuesday, while CairnGorm had a fine start it was a morning with hill fog sitting around the Haggis Trap up at Glencoe before increasingly lifting to give a fine dusk.

It has been a fairly spectacular weather roller coaster over the last few days, with heavy snow preceding and during Storm Dave, and after the warmth of Tuesday and Wednesday, the Murnos will drop back below freezing on Thursday.

CairnGorm is the pick if you are seeking easier terrain or wish to ride with a mixed ability group, with still good cover in the Top Basin terrain (various green trails), White Lady (red) and the Cas runs from the Traverse (green / blue). The M1 RaceTrack (red) is also doable, by exiting to the 105. The White Lady in particular has a wide and deep base thanks to the persistent SE storms in January!

If you are prepared to do the leg work the Ciste Gully is complete to below the level of the former boardwalks.

At Glencoe the high temperatures have stripped much of the baseless new snow from the Plateau terrain, so it is back to really being better suited to strong intermediates and above. That said the Plateau Poma track is not hugely broken and once the temperature falls back it may be salvageable, but on Wednesday it was a walk over to the Cliffhanger Chair from the Access.

The main action at Glencoe is on the upper mountain, with the Main Basin and Happy Valley being pisted regularly. The Spring Run has been great fun the last few days in the warm spring temperatures, but will take on a whole different character on the snow firms up! Mid mountain a combination of Mugs Alley and Old Mugs Alley (either following the Mugs Alley fenced corner or the loop round via the Rannoch Chair top station) will get you back to the Plateau Cafe via easier terrain, while for more advanced riders the Wall (red) is also complete.

Across the open terrain at CairnGorm and Glencoe, snow may well have firmed up under clear skies this evening, but a spell of drizzle or light rain through the dawn period is expected to loosen up the snow, before the spring snow starts to crunch up and dry out as the temperature starts to drop. Surface conditions are likely to continue to change through the day, at their best as snow starts to crunch up but not yet set up firm, but where the best riding is will likely change throughout the day!

Over the coming days, early on it will be best to stick to the recently groomed terrain. Depending on how much snow showers come through, they may freshen up higher terrain, while mid mountain may soften depending on exact freezing level.

Glenshee and the Lecht are currently closed for snowsports. At update the CairnGorm Ski Road, the A939 Lecht Pass and the A93 Cairnwell Pass were open and clear.

Nevis Range did open the Goose T-bar late morning on Wednesday, but this appears to have been a one day wonder, with the Alpha uptrack now broken above the dry slope.

:: Glencoe Sledge Park

The Sledge Park is full length and in great condition. Snowmaking continues round the clock. There are over 150 sledges to grab at the Plateau Cafe, sledging is complimentary!

It is advisable to arrive before 2.30pm 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 lunch time. Last chair down scheduled for 4.30pm.

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:: 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/ .

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:: Mountain Weather

At 6pm in the West at the Glencoe SSC hut (850m) the temperature was +5.6°c, no wind data is available. At Base level (366m) it was +10.9°c with the wind at 5 gusting 11mph.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting +3.6°c. The Met Office station was reporting a South wind at 16 gusting 45mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was +9.0°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +11.6°c.

In the East the summit weather stations on CairnGorm reported +4.0°c, with a Southerly at a mean of 35 gusting 44mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was +12.3°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS reported +6.0°c with a South wind at a mean of 30 gusting 35mph.

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:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

After some light rain through the dawn period on Thursday, precipitation will turn showery and wintry in nature as cooler conditions return to the Scottish mountains. A cool Westerly will become established on Thursday with mountain snow showers coming in from the West, mixed with some brighter spells, fewer showers and more brightness in the East. Munro Level temperature likely to be around +2°c early, lowering to 0 to minus 1°c. SW wind veering WSW or Westerly wind around 20 to 25mph with gusts to 40mph widely at Munro Level.

The potential for more organised hill snow to move into the West on Friday now seems to be delayed into the evening with heaviest precipitation overnight. Friday now looks likely to start fine under a departing ridge of high pressure. Sunny spells under partly cloudy skies, with a moderate SW breeze around 20 gusting 30mph early in the day. Wind may lull almost completely for a time before abruptly Southerly 45 to 65mph ahead of frontal mountain snow setting in. Munro Level temperature most likely to be in the region of -1 to -2°c, but may briefly rise to 0 or +1°c early afternoon if still bright overhead.

Severe Gale or Storm Force South backing SE winds overnight, with potentially 10 to 15cm of snow for some western mountains, while further East it looks like around 5 to 10cm.

Saturday looks to see the strongest winds clear out to the East through or by the dawn period, with blustery and heavy snow showers for the mountains. Wind speeds variable and more gusty around the showers, but like Friday lower wind speeds are expected during a chunk of the day before increasing again late afternoon or evening ahead of another approaching Atlantic depression.

Potentially stormy again overnight Saturday into Sunday with further mountain snowfall, but uncertainty on just how windy and extent of precipitation, however it looks likely that gales will continue into Sunday on the balance of current model output.

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:: Webcams and Weather Stations

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

GLENCOE: All mountain webcams online and the first updated images are shortly after 6am (BST). Sledge Park camera streams overnight. The mid mountain weather station wind direction is not working, other data valid.

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