•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

LIMITED TICKETS: With lots of snow at low levels in the news, there is huge demand but with only the Eastern areas open, demand is far outstripping supply. Snowsports tickets are sold out for CairnGorm, the Lecht and Glenshee, do not travel if you don't have a ticket or season pass! Try sledging at Glencoe instead!

If you have been out on slopes please send photos to the email at the foot of this page!

Not a repeat of the bluebird Thursday on Friday, but some further snow showers across the Eastern areas. But as with the mix of sleet, snow, rain and freezing rain experienced in parts of Scotland, it is a fairly mixed up air mass over Scotland after the passing of Storm Goretti to our South and this was reflected by more variable conditions, with some heavier snow, areas of rather crusty snow and some firmer stuff appearing. A bit of exploring on Saturday morning might be in order to find the best goods!

If visibility is OK it might be possible to get 2000ft vertical on CairnGorm using the Shuttle Bus from the Ciste, but expect very variable surface conditions and baseless variable snow cover low down.

The Top Basin is in good condition for longer green terrain and the cover is pretty much ride anywhere up here, though the groomed stuff was the best on Friday. For advanced riders both the East Lady and White Lady were seeing action, but while the White Lady is fairly grassy below, remeber the East Lady is mainly a boulderfield! Various routes to Daylodge level now viable and the M2 / Daylodge run is also officially now open. Top to Daylodge riding giving 1700ft of vertical. With the M1 Poma now operational quicker mid mountain laps now possible.

The Fiacaill Ridge Poma was being barred up at dusk on Friday, if this is able to run it would take considerable pressure off the Funicular. See pix from Thursday for more info. Given the forecast for Sunday, CML have already pulled the plug on the upper / mid mountain tows and the Funicular will not operate Sunday. Anything opening will be subject to the road and visibility/wind at Daylodge level.

Over at the Lecht, the Grouse Poma made its season debut on Friday and the open main runs are full width machine packed new snow between the fences. The beginner area magic carpet runs are in excellent shape for learning, and conditions should be less hostile here on Sunday than at Daylodge Level on CairnGorm providing the A939 is passable!

Glenshee has not seen as much snow as the Northern Cairngorms, but machines have been dozing out drifts to get some longer tows open for the first time this season, with a Sunnyside Poma and Butcharts Access Poma making their season debuts on Thursday, Huge amount of snow at the top of Butcharts Coire, but the Access Poma run itself is narrow and thin in places, as is the top of Sunnyside which has been scoured.

With Nevis Range shut and not enough snow for main lifts at Glencoe, the only action in the West is beginner lessons and the Sledge Park at Glencoe. However, there is a possibility of significant snow late Saturday evening into Sunday for Glencoe. 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, last chair up at 3.45pm and last chair down at 4pm. Snowsports lessons are taking place for beginners on snow at the Plateau Cafe.

To end, just a reminder that if you do not yet have a lift ticket or a season pass for this weekend, do not travel expecting to be able to buy one.

:: England Club Fields

The 3 Pennine Club Fields are set to open on Saturday, just a travel heads up that the M6 is closed North of Shap Summit to the A66, with a Northbound diversion via the A6 and Southbound daytime diversion via the A66 and A685.

Yad Moss will be open for member season pass holders only on Saturday with a thin cover on frozen ground. It will only be suitable for advanced skiers / boarders.

It is a similar situation at Weardale and Allenheads, both have a thin cover of new snow on frozen ground. Given the grassy field, Allenheads is probably going to give the best skiing.

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 8pm in the West at the Glencoe SSC hut at 850m the mid mountain temperature was -2.8°c, wind at 5 gusting 8mph. At Base level (366m) it was 0°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -4.5°c. The Met Office station was reporting a South Easterly breeze at 12 gusting 19mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was -0.8°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +0.1°c.

In the East the CairnGorm the Met Office Summit AWS reported -5.2°c with a South Easterly at a mean of 12 gusting 19mph. Aviemore was at -6.4°c at 8pm.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS (3061ft /934m) reported -2.8°c with a Sout wind at a mean of 9 gusting 17mph.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

For those lucky enough to have secured Saturday tickets, the day should see moderate South to SE winds, becoming strong in the Northern Cairngorms and Nevis Range mountains later in the afternoon, and really ramping up after dusk. Mainly overcast with snow flurries in the Southern Cairngorms, while further North and West should be dry with bright or hazy sunny spells, with some snow showers around. The best of the overhead and least wind in the morning, so the early bird will get the best of it on CairnGorm and at the Lecht. Freezing Level should stay below the lower slopes, expecting -3 to -4°c at Munro Level.

Unfortunately for weekend skiers, strong SE winds are set to blow up Saturday evening into Sunday, with a potentially horrendous mountain day on Sunday with early snow giving way to freezing rain before a possible rise in temperatures, this all occurring in at best Severe Gale and in prone locations Hurricane Force winds!

However this could be a good thing for the season ahead on CairnGorm, current indications are for heavy snow for a number of hours in Hurricane Force SE winds which will peak around or soon after dawn towards 90 gusting in excess of 120mph. There are substantial deposits of loose snow on the Plateau and SE aspects to redistribute into the snowsports area and the natural snowfields that form the classic runs on CairnGorm, such as the Ciste Gully, White Lady and Cas Gunbarrel. It also has the potential to create a severe drifting on the Ski Road, as the wind will blast snow down the Windy Ridge, to where the road is the first significant terrain trap.

The arrival time of heavy frontal snow from the South for Sunday is somewhat uncertain, but the trend has been for it to arrive earlier than previously thought, from Saturday evening to the early hours of Sunday. This will be accompanied by strengthening SE Gales, giving blizzard conditions for a period. Glenshee and Glencoe are projected to see the most snow from this event, while the Northern Cairngorms and Nevis Range mountains will see the strongest winds. Current indications are the snow will giveaway to a period of freezing rain, but it could be a very messy picture with significant local variations with snow falling to low levels in spots, not far from where it is raining at all levels.

Around -2 to -3°c at Munro Level, perhaps still -4°c towards the West and NW, but this is not a guarantee that precipitation will stay as snow. SE winds are now projected to be Hurricane Force on and immediately downslope of the Cairngorm Plateau on Sunday. Mean speeds getting above 80mph with gusts likely getting above 110mph at times.

While the Lecht will not see the speeds the high tops of the Northern Cairngorms will experience, nonetheless SE winds can funnel through the Lecht Pass, so disruption to uplift is likely at least at times. Everyone can help keep things running by being extra careful on the tows.

Whether there are more widespread problems on the Eastern access roads on Sunday morning is really going to depend on just what the temperature and freezing level does pre dawn.

By Monday still windy, but showers will revert to snow on the Munros with the freezing level around 2500 to 3000ft. Some moderation in wind for Tuesday, though still blustery on the tops, while at this stage Wednesday is looking like a transient ridge of high pressure will give a largely benign day with light winds.

:: Webcams and Weather Stations

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

GLENCOE: All mountain webcams online and the first updated images will be shortly after 8am. The mid mountain weather station wind vane failed due to nearby lightning. Windspeed and other parameters are OK.