The World Ski Resort Guide

Scotland It’s easy to get to from northern Britain

It is possible to experience perfect snow and stirring skiing
Decent, cheap accommodation and good-value packages are on offer
Mid-week is rarely crowded
There are extensive ski-touring and ski-mountaineering possibilities
Few travel hassles
Lots to do off the slopes
Weather is extremely changeable and sometimes vicious
Snowfall is erratic, and has been poor in several recent seasons
Slopes are limited; runs tend to be short
Queueing can be a problem though usually only at peak times and if some lifts are closed
Little ski village ambience and few memorable mountain restaurants

Scotland is different. If you want reliable snow, perfect pistes, blue skies, sunshine and charming mountain restaurants, forget it. Conditions in Scotland are unpredictable, to say the least. If you are willing to take a chance, or if you live nearby and can go at short notice when things look good, fine. But don’t look on it as a replacement for your usual week in the Alps. If you try it, you’ll love it or hate it; but at least you’ll know. And you’ll have something to talk about in the pub.

Scotland’s five ski areas are surprisingly different from one another, although they do share some characteristics. Snow conditions and the weather can vary dramatically especially from west to east; up-to-date and accurate information on conditions and the latest weather forecast are particularly important for those contemplating a trip at short notice. Conditions can be testing. Rain, gales, icy slopes, slush, fog, rocks and heather are not unheard of, but those who ski regularly in Scotland tend to finish up as strong, versatile skiers. Some of the resorts have artificial snowmaking and this is being increased in places.

For novices who are really keen to learn and who are prepared for the possibility of less than ideal conditions Scotland could make sense, especially if you live nearby. One option is to book instruction via one of the excellent outdoor centres, many of which also provide accommodation and a wide range of other activities. Otherwise, the tuition at the resorts themselves, with BASI and BSA qualified instructors, is also very good.
For intermediates, a tour by car that takes in the five main areas is an amusing way to spend a week if you are lucky with the weather. Most of the slopes in most of the areas fall somewhere around the intermediate level. But all areas, apart from the Lecht, offer the occasional piece of tough or very tough skiing. Much of the terrain is suitable for ski touring and ski mountaineering; Cairngorm especially is something of a centre of expertise for mountain activities.

Snowboarding is popular in Scotland and most of the resorts have some special snowboard-friendly features, but conditions are not always conducive to maintaining these fun-parks and half-pipes in good nick. Fortunately, the natural terrain is very good for free-riding when the conditions are right.

Apart from weather, Scotland’s style, ambience and attitude is not to everyone’s taste. All these elements are better than they were the relatively new Nevis Range area has probably had a lot to do with that but Aviemore is still ugly, Fort William is hard to like, and cosy, charming cafe-bars and restaurants are still too few in number. Licensed restaurants have appeared at the slopes in the last few years, bringing not just alcohol but also much better catering. The limited facilities at the base areas (none has accommodation) mean that apres-ski there is poor. By 5pm almost everybody has gone. There is nightlife, of course there are reasonable pubs and bars but it’s like Scotland not Switzerland.

Cairngorm is the biggest and best-known resort in Scotland. Aviemore is the main centre (with a regular shuttle-bus link to the slopes) but a significant amount of Cairngorm business also comes in from other villages in the Spey Valley.

The slopes, which lie between 555m and 1145m, are accessed from car parks about a mile apart at the base of two corries Coire Cas (the main area) and Coire na Ciste (a narrow gulley with the toughest skiing in it). The two sectors come together at the Ptarmigan beginners’ area just below the summit of Cairn Gorm. There are chair-lifts operating from both base areas and, as the snowline recedes up the hill, they provide access to the skiing. Construction of a new funicular from the main car park (655m) up to Ptarmigan at 1100m is now underway the funicular will replace the Car Park and White Lady chair-lifts and will mean a warm, sheltered ride on bad-weather days, when high winds might well have caused the chair-lifts to close. The project is expected to be ready for 2000/20001.

There are mountain restaurants at each of the base areas, at the Shieling (midway up Coire Cas) and at Ptarmigan, at the very top. There’s a fun-park for snowboarders, the condition of which is heavily dependent on the snow conditions. There’s no accommodation at the ski area. The Stakis Coylumbridge, the nearest hotel, offers good-value packages. The Red Macgregor Hotel is centrally located in Aviemore and there are many more attractive options in and around the town. Chalets, cottages, houses and caravans (and even the occasional castle) are available to rent on a self-catering basis the Highlands of Scotland tourist board provides a comprehensive list. For the apres-ski late in the evening, Crofter’s Show Bar is the best dance haunt. Chevvy’s features alternative music and is a focal point for snowboarders. The Winking Owl tends to be preferred by skiers.

Nevis Range is the newest and the highest Scottish resort and it occupies the north-facing slopes of Aonach Mor a 4000-foot peak, Britain’s eighth highest and in close proximity to the Ben itself. The resort opened in 1989 and in the mid-1990s invested in three new lifts (two chairs and a T-bar with names like Braveheart and Rob Roy one senses something of a nationalist pride about the place), which have opened up the north-east-facing corries in the Coire Dubh area and doubled the amount of available slopes to 631 hectares. The additional area also holds its snow well because of its orientation. A new beginners’ area was also built higher up the mountain, which has more reliable snow than the original, low nursery slopes. There is a 75m dry ski slope (recently renewed) in the middle of the actual slope area the tow for this is open throughout the season and newly installed extra matting on the lift track allows access to the upper slopes in poor conditions, when the Snowgoose chair may be closed by high winds. There’s a fun-park under the Snowgoose and other snowboard features are built when the weather allows it. The resort hosted a boarder-cross competition last season and another is planned for 2000.

A long gondola ride in comfortable six-seater cabins is something of a novelty in Scotland and a fair indicator of the relative sophistication of the facilities here. The chair-lift a few minutes’ walk from the gondola station arrives at an altitude of 900 metres and is crucial to keeping skiing going late in the season the upper runs are expected to last until late May.

When the sun shines and the views of Ben Nevis and Carn Mor Dearg are at their most spectacular, intermediates should head for the summit and take it all in it’s superb. The main mountain restaurant, the self-service Snowgoose Restaurant and Bar, shares a building with the gondola top station and is frequently the most popular location on the mountain. Gondola trippers as well as skiers hang out here looking for warmth.

Fort William is only a 15-minute drive from the skiing. The town provides everything that the visitor needs; some hotels arrange transport to the slopes. There are many B&Bs and hotels in and around Fort William that offer accommodation. Self-catering units are plentiful.

Glencoe’s slopes lie between 305m and 1108m, on the Meall A Bhuiridh mountain at the edge of Rannoch Moor and just east of Glen Coe a moody and magnificent setting if ever there was one. The base area is a car park and a few buildings housing the Log Cabin restaurant, ticket office and a museum. The Access lift, a double chair, rises to the Plateau tow, which opens up the main nursery area and provides access to the other tows (and one chair) and the bulk of the slopes, including the Fly Paper black run Scotland’s steepest piste. The only on-mountain cafe, the Plateau, is up here. The upper slopes enjoy good snow cover, often for a season that lasts from December to May. The area is popular with snowboarders thanks to some good natural terrain full of bumps, jumps and gullies that make up for the lack of a fun-park. The only hotel nearby is the isolated Kings House Hotel a mile away. It also has a bunkhouse and an area for tents.

Glenshee has expanded into a system that now boasts 26 lifts and has comfortably the biggest area spread out over three valleys and uplift capacity of the Scottish resorts. There are two big on-slope cafe/restaurants and another big cafe at the base station car park. Most of the slopes, which lie between 640m and 1070m, are suitable for intermediates and beginners. There’s some good natural snowboard terrain for free-riding and a reasonable fun-park as well. It remains primarily a venue for day-trippers because of the lack of a major accommodation centre, though there are hotels, hostels and B&Bs in the area lists can be provided by the local tourist board.

The Lecht is largely a beginners’ area, 32 miles from Aviemore. The slopes (610m-823m) are on the gentle east-facing side of a high pass with a series of parallel drag lifts and runs just above the car parks. The main area includes five beginner tows and six others, each with a run or two back down towards the road. With a maximum vertical of only around 200m, runs are short. There is a floodlit dry ski slope on the mountainside which ensures some evening skiing and a bit of summer business. There’s also a fun-park with a half-pipe for snowboarders. Refreshments are supplied by the Day Lodge at the base station, and a snack bar. The nearest place to stay, Tomintoul, is six miles away from the slopes. It is a typical Highland village with a few hotels and B&Bs, but the nearest accommodation is at the Allargue Arms in Corgarff, three miles from the slopes.

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