Scotland’s Ski Slopes Overrun With Visitors

January 20, 2015

Glenshee // photo by Bob the Lomond

Hugh Morris, The Daily Telegraph, January 20, 2015

Police called to manage traffic as thousands of skiers and snowboarders descend on Scotland‘s ski slopes after heavy snowfall.

Thousands flocked to Scotland's ski resorts over the weekend after freezing temperatures and dumploads of snow created excellent conditions.

The country's main resorts were “mobbed” by enthusiastic skiers and snowboarders, especially Glencoe, where police were called after motorists who were trying to get to the slopes parked on the verge of the A82, the main road that links Fort William and Glasgow, blocking the road.

A spokesperson for the resort told the Aberdeen Press and Journal that they stopped selling lift tickets by early afternoon as the car park was full and the resort was “mobbed”. She said 1,600 people attended the slopes and enjoyed “fantastic conditions”.

Karen Robertson, who was at the ski centre on Sunday, said on Twitter there was “nose to tail traffic from Comrie to Glencoe at 7.30am”, a distance of 64 miles, and that it was “chaos”.

The Cairngorm ski area welcomed nearly 4,000 people to the resort over the weekend, with perfect conditions reported on Sunday, while the Nevis Range, near Ben Nevis, had 3,000 people visit its ski area over the weekend.

One of the main roads to Glenshee, another Scottish ski centre, was closed for much of yesterday after a pedestrian was killed in an accident, while another access road was impassable due to ice and snow, so the numbers at Glenshee were lower for the weekend. The Lecht ski centre reported similar conditions, before the police asked both resorts to evacuate and close as a precaution.

The rush to Scotland's slopes coincided with World Snow Day, a Féderation Internationale du Ski initiative to encourage people onto the slopes. Chair of Ski Scotland Heather Negus accepted it was difficult to mark the day in Scotland's ski areas as January was usually an unsettled time. “This special day tends to coincide with the snow-bearing storms which set us up for the winter season, albeit this year all five mountain resorts have already been operating.

“As World Snow Day timing is never ideal for Scotland, we are also planning our own celebratory Ski Scotland Snowfest in March, when the Scottish mountains weather is more likely to play ball.”

Most recent figures from Ski Scotland say the country's wintersports industry is worth nearly £30m to the economy each season.

Where to ski in Scotland
Skiing in Scotland is broken down into five ski areas across the Highlands: Glenshee, in the Cairngorm National Park, is the largest ski area with 40km of runs served by 22 lifts (compared to, say, St Anton in Austria with 283km served by 84 lifts); Cairngorm, in the eponymous national park, is the best known with 37km of runs; the Nevis Range, near Ben Nevis and surrounding mountains, is the highest Scottish resort, with 35km of pistes reaching 1190m; Glencoe is just east of the famous Glen Coe with 20km of runs; and Lecht, also in the Cairngorm National Park, offers 20km of pistes, mainly catering for novices.

Weather in the ski areas can be unpredictable at best. The slopes are not extensive and long queues on lifts at the weekend can be a problem, but it is rarely crowded mid-week and there is enough to satisfy a day trip or short break. On-the-mountain amenities do not compare to the Alps but nearby towns and villages offer food, accommodation and aprés. Aviemore is the centre for Cairngorm, Fort William for Nevis Range, Tomintoul serves Lecht, Glenshee has a number of hotels and B&Bs in the area, and Glencoe is fairly isolated.

This article was written by Hugh Morris from The Daily Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.