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View Full Version : Where is the best place to ski



Astra
27-Nov-05, 00:43
Hi i was wondering if anyone could help me im planning a weekend away and was wondering were would be the best place to go in scotland to ski?:D

DrSzin
27-Nov-05, 00:54
How good are you? Are you a beginner, an intermediate, a piste basher, or an off-piste expert? Are you taking kids, partner, elderly parents, etc? Do you want facilities, eg "night-life"? Or is the quality of the snow & slopes paramount?

Are you talking downhill "Alpine" skiing, cross-country "Nordic" skiing, or ski mountaineering?

Astra
27-Nov-05, 01:29
Hi Drszin im a beginner taking my partner of he has before not really bothered about night life looked at a couple of web sites cairngorms,nevis range, glenshee,glencoe just not sure what the best one is.

Fran
27-Nov-05, 01:47
the best place to ski would be on the streets of wick, as shown a few days ago when the roads were like ice and non gritted.

DrSzin
27-Nov-05, 03:00
Lol at Fran's comments. The last thing you want to do is to ski on ice!

If you live in Caithness, then I would suggest you go to Cairngorm, mainly because it's the nearest, it has decent beginners' slopes at both low- and high-level, and it has the facilities of Aviemore nearby. The latter has lots of hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs, restaurants, pubs, ski shops, and a Tesco (albeit not a very good one), and this seems to be rather important to many current Caithness residents. ;)

I would say Glenshee has more (and wider) nursery slopes than either Cairngorm or Nevis Range, but it's surely not worth driving the extra miles along the A93 for those. The nearest towns to Glenshee are Braemar, which is ok but small, and Blairgowrie, which is a miserable place. I would say you shouldn't go to Glencoe. The scenery is of course magnificent, but it's much further away, it's not great for beginners, and the nearest towns are miles away.

Last but by no means least: check out the snow conditions and the weather forecast before you go. There's no point going to Cairngorm if the only snow in Scotland is at Nevis Range or Glencoe -- this does happen! And beware of wind -- the lifts close when it gets too windy. I've been blown uphill, and had to pole downhill in a severe gale at Glenshee. The latter ain't much fun, I can tell you.

Caveat: I've never skied at the Lecht, but I'm told it's good for beginners. Maybe someone else can offer an opinion there.

rackwick
27-Nov-05, 09:46
The Lecht can be very good for absolute beginners as it has some short tows right by the road - and they have snow making equipment so they can have skiable snow before anywhere else if its cold enough.

The Ptarmigan bowl at Cairngorm is very good - the only drawback is its right at the top and weather conditions can be dreadful, and you have to contend with the queues on the railway to get there. There are beginners areas lower down but in recent years they don't seem to have had much snow.

Glenshee has the most varied skiing in my opinion (when the snow cover is good).

Glenshee and Nevis Range have limited beginners areas but I would say its not worth going there.

Of course you could take up the Nordic option - then you have the delights of Scaraben, Ben Hope, the Griams, Klibreck plus many other low level tracks suck as out to Altnabreac, shame the promised snow never came to anything but I live in hope....

kas
27-Nov-05, 12:31
The Eagle, Osprey, Grouse, Robin and Wren tows are open, with the Snowy Owl Chair expected to open at the Lecht.

Cairngorm just have the Funicular Railway open, today is there first day of buisness. They do not have ski hire available yet.

See these websites.

http://www.cairngormmountain.com/

http://ski.visitscotland.com/conditions/

It is only the Lecht and Cairngorm that I have been to, because apart from school trips it has always been a day trip, and these are the closest.
A friend of mine who loves to ski says that you cant beat Glenshee, but its like everything else everyone has there favourite.

DrSzin
27-Nov-05, 13:56
Glenshee has the most varied skiing in my opinion (when the snow cover is good). Agreed. The Tiger on the west side can be a real challenge, but there are more slopes and further to ski on the east side. Having said that, most of my best days' skiing in Scotland have been spent on the White Lady, Coire Cas, the West Wall and the Gully at Cairngorm.



Glenshee and Nevis Range have limited beginners areas but I would say its not worth going there. Did you mean Glencoe and Nevis Range?

One advantage Cairngorm has over Glenshee is that there's more to do when there's no snow or the weather's too bad to ski. There are forest walks, cycle tracks (with bikes for hire), clay pigeon shooting (never done this), you can visit the reindeer farm, go swimming, go shopping, hang out in Aviemore, or sit in one of the many bars all day. There's also the Landmark Highland Heritage & Adventure Park in nearby Carrbridge, where we often stay btw. And it's only 30(ish) miles from Inverness.

But skiing in Scotland is not like skiing in the Alps -- the weather and snow are almost always worse, and the runs are much shorter. But it can be fantastic on a bright sunny day when the snow is good.

It's always worth getting proper lessons, at least to start with. I was taught by a mate and it was almost a week before I could do anything at all -- not recommended.

rackwick
27-Nov-05, 16:36
Yes I meant Glencoe.... sorry!