Scotland

Skiing in Scotland can be a bit of a hit or miss with the kind of weather we get up here. Rain can fall at any time of the year on the pistes, which can soak snow that has been falling nicely all week. However, when you get a good day you really get a good day. There are 5 skiing areas in Scotland. Click on their links to get current weather, run conditions, piste maps and other information specific to the site: -

Nevis Range - 01397 705825 or email: nevisrange@sol.co.uk

The Nevis range is the highest of all the ranges and currently is the only one in Scotland with a Gondola ride up to the runs (although the Cairngorms has a nice furnicular). Some nice off piste but wach you don't go down too far on the Corrie Dubh area or you are in for one hell of a walk! If you are new to winter sports (and I'm no veteran) there is plenty here to keep you going. Personally, I find that in the main the runs arn't so interesting, but there is a nice drop off over the back to the East side near the top of run 4 (Summit Button) if you go left. There was a good boarder cross run last time I was there.

Glencoe - 01855 851226 or email: info@ski-glencoe.co.uk

Glencoe is on the West side of Scotland and has some nice interesting narrow runs and natural twisty half pipes which I like. It also has the good wider runs that you need when you are still building up some experience. I like Glencoe but when it is busy it suffers from very bad bottlenecks from queuing for the lower lifts at the Plateau Tow, Cliffhanger Chairlift and the Lower T-Bar Tow. You can get combined season tickets for Glencoe and Glenshee which will enable you to choose to go to the East or West of Scotland depending on where the good weather is.

Glenshee - 013397 41320 or email: info@ski-glenshee.co.uk

Glenshee is deffinately the largest of the 5 resorts in Scotland. It is probably also one of the easiest to get to if you are comming from the South. Again, I don't feel that Glenshee has overly interesting runs. They are mostly wide and fairly featureless. However, because of the size of the area and the number of tows, you rarely have to wait long on a lift up the mountain except at the Plastic Slope Poma as it is near the Ski Centre. They have their own web site at www.ski-glenshee.co.uk which has info on every aspect of the resort and an extensive list of ways to get there.

The Lecht - 019756 51440 or email: info@lecht.co.uk

This resort is probably the biggest pain to get to if you are comming from the South. It is the most Northerly of the sites and the access roads close quickly when the weather comes in. They have a load of diferent activities and have a good boarders area but with a few exceptions the pistes are rather featureless for my liking and prone to lots of wind.

Cairngorms - 01479 861267 or email: info@cairngorm.sol.co.uk

The Cairngorms when you get a clear day is, in my opinion, the most spectacular of the sites. You can see down on to the Loch below and the surrounding mountainscape is beautiful. There are several interesting runs and a good boarders park. If you can, take a day off to go when the weather looks like it is giong to be good. It's superb!