A look at conditions at the 5 Scottish ski resorts and the weather for the weekend.
2nd March 2017
The Met Office have just released their winter climate data summary showing overall it's been dry and mild. Not great news for Scottish snow cover across the mountain ranges. There have been brief spells of snow this winter but nothing spectacular or delightful. At least there have been fewer winter storms. Often, in wet years where the precipitation does fall as snow at height, it has been too windy for the lifts to function, especially it seems at weekends.
Nevis Range on the northern slopes of Aonach Mòr within the Grampian Mountains
With the lengthy blocking high pressure over Scandinavia for part of the winter there hasn't been the usual Atlantic frontal input from the west. There is enough snow up high but lower down it is thin and patchy. "On lower mountain Linnhe open with snow cannons operating and artificial slope on Alpha."
Run conditions
Overnight snowfall has freshened runs:
5-10cms upper mountain.
1-5cms lower mountain.
Snow showers today. Windy, quite cold
The Gondola is open daily, 9am-5pm, last down 5.15pm. All uplift wind permitting. The Snowgoose restaurant and bar (gondola top station) and the Pinemarten cafe bar (gondola base station) are also open daily. http://snowsports.nevisrange.co.uk/snow-report.asp
CairnGorm Mountain one of the most reliable.
Poor visibility a problem on Thursday morning, with strong winds
7.40 AM Update 2nd March.
Top Station Weather 25 - 35 MPH, Westerly, -4.0C, Snowshowers with 100M visibility at present. Fingers crossed that the vis will improve throughout the day.
There has been some overnight drifting of fresh snow which will have improved the snow quality on the open terrain.
The wind is stronger today and is forecast to rise slightly. This may affect operation of the lifts but it looks ok at present.
There have been lots of local schools out on the slopes in the week and hosting of the Army Championship Races on the M2. It was foggy yesterday with hardly any breeze, yet today it is the blustery winds reducing the visibility, can't win.
Again the cover is varied. "Be aware that we have limited snow cover and there are thin and narrow areas around on the open terrain. Please go with care and observe warning signs and marked areas." http://www.cairngormmountain.org/lifts-pistes/
The Lecht within the Cairngorm Mountains near Strathdon
As a lower resort, hardly any snow. Man-made snow helping the nursery slope. http://www.lecht.co.uk/
Glencoe the original skiing destination in Scotland (Est. 1956)
Earlier in the week the snow cannons had been in action, but runs were still patchy. "We don't need much more snow to get a decent amount of terrain open so fingers crossed. The sledging area is in great condition at the moment and the plateau cafe is open daily. Ski school are running lessons either on the dry slope or on snow patches on the mountain." There is a Freestyle Coaching Day planned for Sunday 5th
Some overnight snow means the Coire Pollach lift is now open, Plateau Poma may open later today. It is blustery with snow showers. http://www.glencoemountain.co.uk/winter/
Glenshee the UK's largest skiing and snowboarding resort
Snow cannons have been doing some covering for school lessons in the week. Not enough snow for skiing.
All Closed. Enough for sledging. Cafe is Open. Snow making ongoing. https://www.ski-glenshee.co.uk/Glenshee-Lift-Status
Weekend FORECAST
There is snow in the forecast for this weekend but conditions look far from ideal with wind and rain about too. Low pressure will make its way northwards through Britain, bringing cloud, outbreaks of wintry precipitation, with a tuck of milder air coming off the North Sea during Sunday. The weekend still looks chilly with frost and ice by night.
Winds
Lighter winds on Friday from the east. Windy from the NE during Saturday and low confidence about the winds on Sunday, as the low centre is forecast to right over mainland northern Scotland bringing light winds to all resorts. However, a slight shift in the low's position could result in very strong winds.
