•Glencoe Sledge Park

•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Half Term Begins

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

A Met Office Yellow Warning for rain is in place Tuesday and Wednesday for a swath of the East / SE Highlands, potentially significant new snow on highest terrain, but uncertain how quickly snow level will lower Tuesday through Wednesday. Nevis Range is closed for snowsports till Thursday.

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

Monday saw some brighter conditions across the areas, even Glencoe and the Lecht which seem to have had the most stubborn clag brightened up for a time, though the higher tops did not clear. For a more detailed report from Glencoe check out the Pix from the Slopes for Monday.

This evening showers moving through are falling as snow on the higher mountains, indications are the snow level is likely between the Haggis Trap and top of Ski Tow Gully at Glencoe at posting. Persistent precipitation will set in to the SE / East Highlands into Tuesday morning and persist through Wednesday. There is still uncertainty about the snow level and how quickly it will lower through the 2 day Met Office yellow warning for rain.

High up at Glenshee is likely to see snow from dawn on Tuesday, but at road level it is likely to be rain or sleet for at least part of Tuesday. Providing the wind is not worse than forecast it maybe possible to stay entirely in the snow zone up top on CairnGorm on Tuesday, whereas it looks decidedly soggy at the Lecht until the freezing level drops later Tuesday or into Wednesday.

WIth the milder temperatures and rain showers at lower levels, where snow cover was thinner, particularly on wind exposed slopes, thaw conditions are more obvious as these areas of very thin cover melt out, but we can now see where the decent base is and the snowpack where deeper at lower to mid mountain levels is now consolidating. With colder air set to return mid-week, overall this should be a good base building cycle with much of the Scottish lift served terrain now going to have the best consolidated base since 2021.

At CairnGorm and Glenshee no impact on open terrain from the milder and damp weather on Sunday. All uplift bar the Fiacaill Ridge Poma is scheduled for CairnGorm on Tuesday and the Daylodge Poma run is the best route to the Cas Carpark. The Ridge Poma has significant snowless stretches on the middle of the uptrack due to the wind direction, so snow showers from slightly different directions anticipated later this week may get it going!

In terms of snow cover, the East has fared best recently and with the persistence of winds from the SE quadrant it is Glenshee that has seen by far the most snowfall accumulate.

Further digging out and storm recovery work is required to get uplift running on Meall Odhar and push up the other side of the middle valley and onwards to Coire Fionn, but with the recent sustained drifting having now stopped, machines are making progress on getting uplift going on Meall Odhar. Coire Fionn should follow on quite quickly once uplift opens on Meall Odhar, but there is a good deal more storm recovery work required on the Glas Maol Poma, it will be longer. However if the temperature drops towards the quicker of the forecast scenarios over the next 48hours, significant new drifts could build around the Caenlochan Poma!

On CairnGorm the Funicular is offering 1550ft of non-surface uplift vertical with a mix of green, blue and red terrain accessible from the train. While the Daylodge and West Wall Poma combo will provide an alternative route to the top station for advanced skiers and boarders. The White Lady, East Lady and M1 RaceTrack are in great shape with spring snow for more experienced riders.

Out West though the Plateau runs are mostly skiable, Glencoe is more suited to more confident intermediates and above, as by far the best riding is on the upper mountain at this time. For green run terrain, CairnGorm and Glenshee have more options with considerably deeper and wider cover given the predominance of SE winds in recent weeks. But for the more experienced, the top of the mountain at Glencoe is a whole bunch of fun with opportunities to ride stuff that is usually just boulder-fields, as thanks to those SE winds the mountain feels almost back to front!

Unfortunately the Lecht remained well and truly in the gloom on Sunday, the very dreich day being bad news for the main side of the ski area where cover was thinner than on the Buzzard side. While the main runs are still complete and mostly full width between the fences, there are thin / worn areas with very wet snow on the steeper pitches. However the Buzzard side has an extensive wide cover of spring snow and the nursery slopes by the magic carpets retain good cover. With colder air set to return, a reasonable base should survive the next 24 hours or so, for the forecast snow showers to land on.

Nevis Range opened the Alpha Button and the Goose T-bar on Sunday and enjoyed reasonable visibility this weekend vs everywhere else! Yorkies is in good shape off Alpha and the Home Run / Rabbit Run provide a return from the Goose to outside the Top Station. Nevis will be closed for snowsports mid-week, reviewing Wednesday for a Thursday reopening.

:: Glencoe Sledge Park

The Sledge Park at the Plateau Cafe is in excellent condition! 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

There had been some new snow last week at both Weardale and Yad Moss, but it was not sufficient to open and the freezing level went back above the tops again on Saturday.

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 +0.7°c with the wind at a mean of 8 gusting 13mph. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was +2.1°c. At Base level (366m) it was +4.2°c with a SE breeze at 3 gusting 6mph.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -0.2°c. The Met Office station was reporting a South East wind at 19 gusting 29mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was +2.6°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +5.3°c.

In the East the Met Office Summit AWS on CairnGorm reported -1.3°c, while the Heriot Watt AWS reported a SSE wind at a mean of 28 gusting 32mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was +4.9°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS reported +0.8°c with a South Easterly at 25 gusting 34mph.

:: Half Term Begins

Some locations are now on half term. Monday to Wednesday of the new week will be busier than usual weekdays, Thursday probably about normal, before the busiest half term period from Friday to the following Wednesday, when several councils local to the ski areas have long weekends that coincide with the peak week for English Half Term.

All areas will be busier on the equipment hire front. If you have your own equipment, bring it is the best advice that can be given! Safely fitting equipment takes time. If you need to hire and hiring off-site on route to the mountain can work for you, that means you are ready to go when you hit the mountain.

If you need to hire on the mountain, book equipment hire in advance, that allows equipment to be pre-setup, significantly speeding up the process in the morning.

Carparks at Glenshee and CairnGorm are likely to reach capacity on peak days, on CairnGorm shuttle buses will operate from Coire na Ciste from around 9am. Please remember that there are currently no facilities at the Ciste Carpark.

With considerably more snow in the East, Glencoe is unlikely to have carpark issues over the next few days, but to keep things organised, larger 4wd vehicles please park in the top carpark above the Ticket Office. Only cars and small vans in the main carpark area, please DO NOT block either the top or bottom exit of the carpark lanes as sight seeing visitors and sledgers will be arriving and departing throughout the day!

Campervans wishing to stay overnight will find the most level areas around the permitter of the overflow carpark.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

This evening showers moving through are falling as snow on the higher mountains, indications are the snow level is likely between the Haggis Trap and top of Ski Tow Gully at Glencoe at posting. More showers overnight will pick up in frequency and intensity in the East in the early hours, then ease somewhat before more persistent precipitation sets in over the Eastern / SE Highlands post dawn on Tuesday and persists through Wednesday.

On CairnGorm the Top Basin may just about get away with snow showers in precipitation if you stay up there on Tuesday morning, elsewhere it is unlikely you can stay in the snow zone during any showers at least until later in the day!

Munro Level temperature looks to be around +1°c lowering 0 or possibly -1°c by later afternoon. Slightly fresher SE wind than on Monday, gusts to 35 to 40mph, but risk 50 to 55mph for a time in the Northern Cairngorms and through the Nevis Range mountains.

No East Coast high level access road problems are envisaged on Tuesday morning, but snow may fall to road level later in the day and potentially below road level on Wednesday.

Confidence in forecast detail mid-week remains low, particularly with regard to temperature and precipitation type, but also a risk wind speed could be higher than shown in the 5 day trend outlook. This evening there remains a 4 to 6°c spread in the 850hpa temperature for the Central Highlands, as the ski areas will lie close to the dividing line between colder air to the North and milder air to the South.

The exact depth and thus track of a low pressure remains uncertain, slight change in track having a fairly big consequence on temperature experienced at the ski areas and also strength of the wind. If you are planning a Wednesday slide, keep a close eye on the forecasts, if the freezing level trends lower faster and precipitation totals in the East remain as per the Met office warning, some locations could see upwards of 30cm of new snow, which could mean road problems!

By the end of the week there is greater confidence in noticeably colder air digging in, on Thursday the freezing level should be below the lower slopes with a moderate to strong ENE wind, but risk of Gales (so again keep a close look at how the forecast evolves). Around -3 to -4°c at Munro Level on Thursday, with snow showers widespread, but perhaps some brightness between them towards the West, while showers likely to merge together at times into some longer spells of snow for the Northern Cairngorms.

Despite the mid-week temperature uncertainty, there is growing agreement for a ridge of high pressure to build in from the West during Friday. Just how quickly this will build in and move through is uncertain, but Saturday will probably see the best day from this ridge. Friday should see showers fizzle out quickly in the West with a dry and increasingly bright day with partly cloudy skies, while further East showers will start to become more scattered with some sunny spells developing between them. Freezing level in the North and East Highlands lowering towards the surface with between -4 to -6°c at Munro Level.

Saturday looks likely to have the ridge over Highland Scotland with widespread sunshine and a dry day, sun may be prolonged or unbroken in the West, some patchy cloud may come into parts of the Cairngorms depending on exact direction of the breeze. Very cold with -5 to -7°c at Munro Level, sub zero at the surface away from the immediate coastal zone, wind light NNE in the East Highlands, becoming light and variable in the West.

Whether the ridge holds for Sunday is currently uncertain, there is a risk of wind speeds ramping up on Saturday evening or overnight into Sunday morning, however the detail is uncertain. This could hold off another 24 hours and Sunday is similar to Saturday, or potentially moves through quicker and wind speeds ramp up much quicker on Saturday evening and actually drop away quickly again on Sunday morning post dawn.

:: 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 7am, other cams come on by 7.30am. Sledge Park camera streams overnight. The mid mountain weather station wind direction is not working, other data valid.