 Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks, did wonder if it was the Cableways requirement. Glenshee had problems with Dof T delays when they applied for theirs.
If the chair had been operational it would have more than doubled their potential capacity and therefore possible ticket sales, although their staff costs would also have been higher too.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Cliffhanger chair running at Glencoe today.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Quote: |
| Slight shame they haven’t got the new Rannoch Chair operational yet. I don’t think the chairs are on the cable yet. Anyone know the issue ? |
Had heard it's involved the same consultants/process as the Cairngorm funicular - so scheduled for opening in December.... (December 2026 that is  )
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@mountainaddict, .. and then, presumably, closing indefinitely early 2027, having consumed a huge amount of cash.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
restaurant could be called Pie in The Sky
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Or possibly Fingers in the Pie in the Sky.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
Still can’t get my head around the fact you can go for a walk at the top during the summer! |
There's no problem hiking to the summit from the valley level, but they don't want masses of footfall damaging the fragile "tundra" environment
| Quote: |
| There was strong opposition to the funicular from environmental groups, who were concerned about damage to the mountain and its fragile soils and plants. The eventual compromise reached, after negotiations with Scottish Natural Heritage, allowed the Cairngorm Mountain Railway to be built, but with restrictions on its usage. Only those engaging in snow sports, or spectating, are allowed to exit from the top station. Other funicular users can visit the restaurant and visitor centre, but are currently restricted from leaving the building to start a walk. |
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Cairngorm used to be good when I was a kid.
So disappointing now, I don't bother anymore and just head to Glenshee or Glencoe, at least they know what they are about in the winter.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| GreenDay wrote: |
Cairngorm used to be good when I was a kid.
So disappointing now, I don't bother anymore and just head to Glenshee or Glencoe, at least they know what they are about in the winter. |
Why is it not good now?
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| Ram80 wrote: |
| GreenDay wrote: |
Cairngorm used to be good when I was a kid.
So disappointing now, I don't bother anymore and just head to Glenshee or Glencoe, at least they know what they are about in the winter. |
Why is it not good now? |
Because the funicular (which was built at a cost of over £26 million and came into operation in 2001 replacing the old two person chairlift on the Coire Cas side of the ski area) was closed in 2018 after just 17 years of operation due to structural problems, and has still not been repaired (repairs are in progress though at a cost of a further approx £20 million) and brought back into operation yet. Moreover the excellent skiing area on the other Coire na Ciste side has been deliberately run down, with removal of the chairlift from the Coire na Ciste side car park area.
What's more in these Covid times when it does come back into operation the funicular is worse from a social distancing viewpoint than chairlifts or drag lifts. 
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You know it makes sense.
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To add the above even before the funicular was declared goosed we’d already lost around half the mid-mountain uplift capacity. The whole situation with the Coire na Ciste and West Wall Chairlifts stinks, HIE got them ripped down in a hurry in autumn 2017.
By which time they knew the funicular was in trouble. Instead of urgently investigating ways to maintain non surface uplift to the upper mountain when the worst happened and the funicular had to be taken out of service, they made a choice to wield a gas axe. Why? To ensure the chairlifts that could have been overhauled to provide an alternative non surface route to the upper slopes were already gone before the Funicular failed. They were simply too detrimental to the case for fixing the Funicular, had they been repaired, HIE wouldn’t have had the urgency argument that we have to fix the Funicular as it would take to long to do something else. If the Ciste Chairs were back in operation, they’d have had to accept there was time to take a step back and review everything about the mountain.
Though there has been no urgency, even new lifts could have been put in within 18months to bypass the funicular if there was a will, but manipulating the situation to get the funicular fixed at any cost was all that mattered to HIE. What was done was malicious vandalism by an unaccountable out of control quango, for whom all that mattered was saving the funicular to cover their own backsides by ensuring no deeper questions were asked about the Funicular’s past and origins.
You really only need to know that the Chief Executive of HIE at the time of the Funicular projects inception was one Sir Fraser Morrison, Chair and CEO of the Funicular contractor Morrison Construction to get the gist of what went on. 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Whilst we are Cairngorm bashing they appear to have spent a lot of effort and I assume money on a lower beginners area. Various reports I’ve seen on touring sites have shown good snow cover in the upper mountain but seemingly no interest to open top lifts and runs at all???
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Ram80, Basically what @Alastair Pink, and @haggishunter, said.
"When I were a lad"  we used to go to Glenshee all the time (couple of teachers were on the ski patrol there) and also weekends to Cairngorm - staying at Laganlia (which is an Edinburgh Council outdoors centre at Feshiebridge near Aviemore).
At that time, pre funicular, we skied all over the mountain, as Alastair mentions above the Coire na Ciste was popular and fun.
When they installed the railway, it was made clear that skiing was a secondary pursuit to getting day trippers up to "look at the view and buy coffee and cake". I confess to having done the same myself with the family a few years back and couldnt believe that we were only allowed to go outside the cafe and walk if part of an organised group.
While I understand that protecting the ecology is vital, its a wee bit rich for people who poured millions of tons of concrete in order to install a railway to preach to the likes of me.
Frankly, its not worth the bother now - Glencoe and Glenshee are easily within a day trip for me, and while Aviemore has great facilities and I have had many holidays in the area over the last 20 years or so.............all of them have been for MTB / Camping / Canoeing outside the winter season.
HIE have a hell of a lot to answer for.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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What haggishunter said is spot on, HIE are entirely and completely culpable. As well as the Morrison link the PM for that particular white elephant is also now the new CEO. They have absolutely killed the ski area and the knock on effect to the community should not be underestimated.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Oh dear, the current snow situation in Scotland is a little bit heartbreaking when you consider the last two winters have been pretty great for snow but just ruined by Covid. I guess it's not super unusual to have no skiing in early/mid Jan but still a real shame.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Neil Neige, the first of those ‘last two winters’ (2019) was pretty crap in Scotland until mid-late Feb, so don’t give up hope just yet!
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Good point @Inboard. I remember Jan 2020 being pretty snowless, then the mountains were loaded with the stuff just as Covid started kicking in!
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Is this one of the worst seasons in recent years?
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Snow is normally better later in the year, not unusual at all to not get much before February. And I can remember several years when Glenshee closed due to lack of visitors/staff contracts running out rather than lack of snow - spring normally has the best conditions. I remain optimistic!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@zikomo, yes spring has always provided the best snow conditions, but that’s because of the base that’s formed over winter. It’s late January and these isn’t much of a base other than at Cairngorm and around 150m At glenshee! I think Scotland needs a big dump asap to get the base topped up
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@Ricklovesthepowder, It helps if there is an early base, but this is by no means the deciding factor. Plenty of years there was precious little snow in January and December, but still a good season lasting well into spring. No idea really what you are basing you comment on.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
| It helps if there is an early base, but this is by no means the deciding factor. Plenty of years there was precious little snow in January and December, but still a good season lasting well into spring |
One year, in fairly recent times, the snow of December, January and February melted completely, meaning that (for the first time ever, IIRC) not a single lift turned in Scotland in the month of March. However, the snow returned in April and skiing lasted into May.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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This is probably what the Alps would be like these days without snow making.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Ricklovesthepowder wrote: |
| Is this one of the worst seasons in recent years? |
No. We’re pretty much where we were in January 2020. Forecast models are pretty split about what happens after a fairly stormy end to January, it could go back to high pressure dominated, or a cool / stormy February similar to 2020.
Mountain Addict mentions a year without a single ski lift spinning in March across the whole of Scotland, that was 2012, there were some amazing days in April and May that year, with CairnGorm and the Lecht coming back from nothing in April. Of course the CairnGorm *****show means a repeat performance on CairnGorm is likely to see no lifts turning, but this can happen from nothing late into meteorological spring.
CairnGorm Saturday 12th May 2012: http://www.winterhighland.info/pix/pixalbum.php?pix_id=798
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Quote: |
| Mountain Addict mentions a year without a single ski lift spinning in March across the whole of Scotland, that was 2012 |
10 years ago!!  Wow! Where did that time go?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Still lots of time. Glenshee has done well to keep their plastic slope open (it’s not plastic - it was their old artificial slope that kept silting so was binned) and it’s fine for a morning (the plastic - when alls open there’s loads) before cutting up and being busy. Cracking staff too Let’s hope for a big dump soon. Think it’s 50:50 over the next week or so…
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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It’s a bit one step forward two back. Not as much snow as expected the other night and mostly hosed off last night, the pressure remains too high over and to the South of Southern England for winter to become established in Highland Scotland. Bit more encouraging for the end of the week, but beyond the forecast models ensemble output isn’t all that comforting and it looks like the best we can hope for is to gradually accumulate a bit more each storm cycle than is lost again in the warm sectors. Still some ensemble runs going for some fairly spectacular cold zonality though - so things could still flip round in fairly short order, but the runs that have us the wrong side of marginal are rather outnumbering the ones on the right side of marginal at the moment.
Can we nuke the Azores high? 
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The West Highlands cams are looking fairly white today.
As haggishunter says, we need to hope that we are at last starting to see an accumulation of snow amid the thaws... 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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lets do a snow dance for the mighty coe fest in march!!!
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I really hope this is supported. If the someone takes a big house and has space for 1 I’m in !
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Snow continues to build at Nevis Range and Glencoe. It's snowing to bottom station level today
A blip tomorrow in terms of a rise in the freezing level but then cold with more snow on the way.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@mountainaddict, main basin looks about ready to go! A thaw/freeze would be spot on for some consolidation!!
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main basin looks about ready to go!
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That's what we're hoping kitenski
Our shiny new touring skis are all set for a second trip after we tried them out in December at Cairngorm and The Lecht. Hoping the weather plays ball for the back end of next week. We'll see you there eh?
And the east has now gone from nothing to filling in a bit too. Hopefully things are looking up at last.
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