•Glencoe Sledge Park

•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

A ridge of high pressure will build in later Monday to give a largely bluebird Tuesday and fine Wednesday. After repeated freeze/thaw cycles the slightly milder temperatures in the sunshine should yield up some great granular spring snow sport.

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

The temperatures may have turned spring like during the first day of meteorological spring, but the overhead was not joining in! Early high level snow and drifting gave way to rain as the freezing level edged above the tops and the wind was generally howling! Wind restricted CairnGorm to just the funicular for access to any main run terrain, kept higher and further out lifts shut at Glenshee and wiped out day two of the Glencoe Gathering, with Glencoe stormbound on Sunday.

A horrendous night with persistent rain, heaviest in the West accompanied by a period of widespread upland Storm Force winds overnight into early Monday. However the wind should moderate significantly by dawn in the West and progressively moderate further east post dawn. Wind may affect some uplift at least first thing in the morning, but if forecast speeds are correct, then not to the extent that was the case on Sunday and improving overhead should help too.

That said if you are planning a slide over the next few days, then at the moment Tuesday has the best overhead as a ridge builds over Highland Scotland, the freezing level sitting around the higher Munros combined with the spring sunshine should loosen up a good amount of terrain to give proper granular spring snow, though some highest and shaded aspects may stay a bit firmer on Tuesday. Wednesday may not be quite as bright, but a degree or two milder will help loosen up the snowpack at all levels.

With still extensive cover further up at CairnGorm and particularly on West aspects at Glenshee, plus decent cover in unusual places on the upper mountain at Glencoe, there should be scope for some classic spring snow days mid-week. Even the Lecht wont miss out entirely with still decent cover on the Buzzard side and the Robin and Wren beginner runs still good.

For more advanced riders, Glencoe, CairnGorm or Glenshee are all good options, with Glenshee having the most extensive terrain. 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, plus M2 / Daylodge run being available from the funicular, with the funicular planned to make middle stops, the Traverse / Cas / Zig Zags can be accessed from the train without needing to negotiate the Carpark Runs every lap. These are passable, but narrow and thin in places. The best route to the Cas Carpark though is via the M2 and Daylodge Poma run. 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, this has remained largely closed. With good overhead and spring snow expected mid-week it may reopen, but walking will be required to regain the Poma (or reach the Ciste Carpark if shuttle bus on, this would give a longer run as the gully is skiable to below the old Aonach Poma level).

At Glenshee, Meall Odhar in particular has been one huge spring snow playground, with the Coire Fionn Pomas making their season debut on Saturday, the whole bowl from the top of Caenlochan to the base of the Fionn Pomas is in play (wind may limit outer lifts at least early Monday, but more promising for Tue and Wed). As the snow loosens up more widely to spring snow mid-week there should be some great turns to be had. 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.

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 Saturday photos for full report. It is possible to return almost 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!

Nevis Range is closed for lift served snowsports.

:: 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. The alternative spot on Old Mugs Alley is limited, so this is not the best 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 +4.6°c, wind at 15 gusting 47mph. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was +6.4°c. At Base level (366m) it was +8.5°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting +2.7°c. The Met Office station was reporting a South wind at 21 gusting 29mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was +7.5°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +8.8°c.

In the East the summit weather stations on CairnGorm reported -+2.1°c, with a Southerly at a mean of 53 gusting 63mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was +10.7°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS reported +4.0°c with a South wind at a mean of 40 gusting 50mph.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

A horrendous night with persistent rain, heaviest in the West accompanied by a period of widespread upland Storm Force winds overnight into early Monday, with mean speeds pushing up to between 60 and 70mph for a number of hours.

Overnight rain will give way to wintry showers by dawn on the tops, there may be a high level covering of new snow. Some uncertainty as to whether snow showers will fade quickly in the West or persist a few hours further into daytime Monday in the West, but sunny spells should develop between showers, becoming cloudier again for a time in the evening with some light snow possible before skies begin to clear again through the early hours of Tuesday. Expecting Munro Level temperature to go from +3°c after midnight to between 0 and -2°c post dawn, then rising early afternoon to +1 or +2°c.

Freezing level will fall back to Munro Level by or soon after dusk on Monday. Storm Force Southerly winds should moderate abruptly pre or around dawn in the West, lighter winds then spreading Eastwards through Monday morning. Wind in the west may lull to around 15 gusting 20 to 25mph post dawn, before freshening slightly later AM to be SSW 25 gusting 35 to 40mph. Winds look to be least mid to late morning in the Northern Cairngorms, but then picking back up to 35 gusting 45 to 50mph, may reach 40 gusting 60mph Northern Cairngorms towards dusk.

Tuesday looks like it could be the pick of the week, a fine and bright day with plenty of sunshine and moderate winds, easing to light and variable, the freezing level lifting just enough along with the sunshine to loosen up the snowpack on all but the highest / or shadiest terrain to give more forgiving surface conditions without any significant melt.

A dry day is also expected on Wednesday, but perhaps a bit more cloud than Tuesday with sunny spells rather than more sustained periods of sunshine. However temperatures look to be a couple of degrees up on Tuesday, which should help loosen up the snowpack more widely, and it could be the best day for finding the best spring snow lines!

A weak front may brush the North of Scotland on Thursday bringing more cloud and cooler air, with a chance of light snow showers in the West and also the Southern Cairngorms, the best of the brightness to the Northern side of the Cairngorms with a moderate or strong Southerly or SSW wind.

The balance of model output at this stage points towards the most likely outcome being high pressure rebuilding over Scotland on Friday into the weekend.

:: 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.