Snowboard Club UK (SCUK)

UK - Scotland resort advice

Dylanrobinson - Feb 24, 2010 - 10:06 PM
Post subject: Scotland resort advice

Does anyone have any comments or suggestions about the best place to hit the first weekend of March in Scotland.

The time has come to try it, I've seen the reports and images and i seems daft not to go and join the fun while its so good this year, hopefully the weather will fall on our side but not sure whether to hit Nevis or Cairngorm.

The trouble is I hate t's and poma's and having checked out both piste maps i'm gonna struggle to avoid them. Can you just use the funicular in Cairngorm, I don't mind using the odd poma every now and again but would still prefer to avoid the as much as possible.

I take it the chairs at Nevis have big queues? How do the two resorts compare?

Thanks in advance...

dashie - Feb 24, 2010 - 10:18 PM
Post subject: RE: Scotland resort advice

If you hate pomas and T bars you can just ride the train all day at Cairngorm. At the moment theres runs from the top of the train down to the mid car park. 2 miles of runs with a bus back up to the train.

I've not been to Nevis yet this season but from what i've seen and heard its awesome at the moment with more on the way.

Cairngorm is awesome at the moment, tons of snow everywhere.

StevieMcK - Feb 24, 2010 - 10:23 PM
Post subject: RE: Scotland resort advice

The quad chair at Nevis chews through the queues. You rarely wait for more than a minute to get on it. However, for both resorts you really need to use pomas/tbars to get the best out of them.

ferociousgeorge - Feb 24, 2010 - 10:34 PM
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Cairngorm is my favorite of the two and if you really dont want to use drag lifts you can just use the train, however if the weather is good and the back corries / braveheart chair is running get to Nevis.
Glencoe is the best in scotland when the conditions are good though imo.
Also Glencoe and Nevis are only 30 mins from each other , but there may be a bit more apres in Aviemore rather than Fort William, not that Aviemore is any great shakes these days though

Dylanrobinson - Feb 24, 2010 - 10:55 PM
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Cheers guys

Simblade - Feb 24, 2010 - 11:04 PM
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You'll have a great time no matter where you go, t-bars and poma's are a must though. You should try an make it up this weekend if you can, there was a foot of powder lying on the side of the runs of glenshee today, with a bit of wind in the right direction an more snow forecast its looking like this weekend is gonna be the best of the season. GET SOME!!!!

fra3er - Feb 25, 2010 - 09:46 AM
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ferociousgeorge wrote:

Also Glencoe and Nevis are only 30 mins from each other , but there may be a bit more apres in Aviemore rather than Fort William, not that Aviemore is any great shakes these days though

What are you driving? a Ferrari at full sprint with ur own straight roads? Whack an hour on top of that 30 mins.

compact - Feb 25, 2010 - 10:43 AM
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Nevis was amazing last weekend.
Hooked up with the SnowboardBus guy, stayed at the bottom of the Gondola.
Amazing sun and great powder.

Once you are up, there is a 4 chair, but you will need to ride a T and a button to get to the top and the park.
Personally it didn't bother me too much for 2 days of it, and the park was really good with the guys continually working on the jumpes, shaping and repairing them.

keludm - Feb 25, 2010 - 12:39 PM
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Cairngorm and Nevis are a bit further north and therefore at the weekends are a bit less busy than Glencoe/Glenshee which are closer to Glasgow and Edinburgh respectively and so get most of the crowds - Id advise going the extra distance to avoid the crowds if you can be arsed.

Kieran-Boarder - Feb 25, 2010 - 02:06 PM
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Glencoe and Nevis are not 1hr 30 apart from each other. They are only 37.5 miles apart. Fair enough it's a small windy road but it's about 45 minutes to drive between.

Also, Glenshee and Glencoe are never ever busier than Cairngorm and Nevis -They are both usually quieter !!.

Glenshee has a much larger uplift capacity than Cairngorm and when it has a similar number of people the queues are much smaller (as has been the case most weekends recently)

How do i know? because the last 2 weeks i've spent Friday at Cairngorm where it has been much busier than my Saturday at Glenshee.

ferociousgeorge - Feb 25, 2010 - 05:14 PM
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fra3er wrote:

ferociousgeorge wrote:

Also Glencoe and Nevis are only 30 mins from each other , but there may be a bit more apres in Aviemore rather than Fort William, not that Aviemore is any great shakes these days though

What are you driving? a Ferrari at full sprint with ur own straight roads? Whack an hour on top of that 30 mins.

have you ever been ? 1.5 hrs if ye walk , mibbie ............

If the roads are clear this weekend is going to be feck amazing , also with the footie on sunday there might be less people heading up

ferociousgeorge - Feb 25, 2010 - 05:17 PM
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ferociousgeorge wrote:

fra3er wrote:

ferociousgeorge wrote:

Also Glencoe and Nevis are only 30 mins from each other , but there may be a bit more apres in Aviemore rather than Fort William, not that Aviemore is any great shakes these days though

What are you driving? a Ferrari at full sprint with ur own straight roads? Whack an hour on top of that 30 mins.

have you ever been ? 1.5 hrs if ye walk , mibbie ............

If the roads are clear this weekend is going to be feck amazing , also with the footie on sunday there might be less people heading up

the A9 is shut just now though so its a waiting game

fra3er - Feb 25, 2010 - 05:23 PM
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Yes, im up in fort augustas every month due to MBA work. It takes longer than 30 mins, you have to time for slow drivers and tourists looking at the scenery, the fact that its the worst road ever for driving on. The majority of the way is lined with double white lines so u canny over take.

gaz_5_m - Feb 25, 2010 - 09:33 PM
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Sorry mate, 45 minutes max from Glencoe to Nevis. On a good day you can be a little less than that. I can do Nevis in an hour and a half from Crianlarich (or 2 and a half from my house in Alloa)!

ramlok - Feb 25, 2010 - 10:12 PM
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Last time I was at Glenshee after a heavy snowfall it took a while to sort out the pistes and not all of the lifts opened, so it was pretty busy. Still a great day though.

adverse - Feb 25, 2010 - 11:09 PM
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I was up in Scotland at the end of Jan (first time) - Glenshee was good but as the wind picked up at the top it was very icy in parts, tricky on a blunt edged hire board. We did Glenshee on Sat and Aviemore on Sun. Aviemore seemed like the more 'professional' setup and the funicular was cool, better than the T-bar up to the top at Glenshee....I've still not really worked out how to use one properly! However just make sure you check the roads - we tried to go the top way past the Lecht from Aviemore to Glenshee (to drop the gear back) but they'd closed the road at the Lecht so we had to turn back. I believe the bottom way is more likely to be open but a longer drive.

I live in Liverpool and did all the driving - it was properly knackering to honest, especially when you're up early checking the weather reports. Worth it though.

But yeah....you'll have a hard time avoiding drag lifts if you want to get the most out of your stay, especially considering the winds can pick up at the drop of a hat and close sections.

Dylanrobinson - Feb 25, 2010 - 11:24 PM
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adverse wrote:

I live in Liverpool and did all the driving - it was properly knackering to honest, especially when you're up early checking the weather reports. Worth it though.

I was brought up in Edinburgh so have my mum to use as an overnight stop over, at about half way, going and coming back. Still a ball ache of a drive though. Sad

Fingers crossed there is still some pow left for us, real shame I can't make this weekend.

adverse - Feb 25, 2010 - 11:31 PM
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It's lucky if you have a stop over. I actually have a cousin in Perth who it's not strictly close but we popped in to see - she said we could stay if we ever needed to so probably next time we'll drive on the Friday and stay over, straight to the slopes Sat morning then book a room close by for the Saturday night. Get a full day in on Sun, stop over again Sun night and be back in work for midday on Mon...

Dylanrobinson - Feb 25, 2010 - 11:36 PM
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Haha, other than it being Edinburgh not Perth that is my plan!

Burnsybhoy - Feb 26, 2010 - 10:15 AM
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Anyone going boarding on Monday?

I'm working this weekend but off on Monday and to be honest with the forecast it looks like it may take this long to get the resorts up and running with the snow still coming down.

Will we ever get another winter like this??

philboarder - Feb 26, 2010 - 07:59 PM
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Thinking about going up tommorow afternoon till Monday night but could do with knowing what the conditions on the A9 are like

gangus1 - Feb 26, 2010 - 08:43 PM
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so much snow everywhere at the moment, you will have a great time wherever you go. To avoid poma's, Cairngorm is your best bet. For bigger area, with less queus, i would say Glenshee. Glencoe is also good, but i've never made it toNevis so cant help with that.

Jango - Feb 26, 2010 - 09:24 PM
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A9 has been closed in places over the last two days- news reports people stranded for upto 17 hours! Cairngorm is closed on Saturday according to their site due to the monstrous amounts of snowfall. I was up on Monday and it was totally bluebird and was able to board from top of mountain to bottom car park. There is now another 2 metres on top. That will take some digging out.

dezeboy - Mar 06, 2010 - 09:43 PM
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I'd love to try Scotland this year! and i'am thinking about the cairngorm as a little solo easter getaway leaving good friday and returning easter monday. Can any of the tartan army give me a heads up on where to stay and what to expect!

freestylepumper - Mar 06, 2010 - 10:14 PM
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Guys you don't need the A9. Head for the Erskine Bridge when you hit Glasgow, then through Dumbarton, up the side of Loch Lomond, the hairy road between Tarbet and Ardlui then to Crainlarich. Left at hotel then rock onto the Coe or the Nevis range

mrpugster - Mar 06, 2010 - 10:15 PM
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deze there's some other threads on here with that info, going to be driving up all the way from dover to try scotland out this year....

Dylanrobinson - Mar 06, 2010 - 11:31 PM
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I drove up to Aviemore to day from Edinburgh up the A9, quiet would be an understatement. total breeze, 2hrs no probs. Even with me driving like a saint the last 25 miles because go my car was saying zero miles till empty. I always had faith, dispite the needle being lower than I've ever seen it, unlike the passenger!

philboarder - Mar 09, 2010 - 01:03 PM
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Just got back from two days in scotland awesome trip. Went to glenshee and Aviemore.

The snow at glenshee was alright good coverage on their slopes but not as much off piste. It got nice and slushy in the afternoon. Its probably only good for one days riding though.

Aviemore has stupid amounts of snow its got complete coverage its insane. The park obviously still needed tidying up a bit which was pity.
Theyve also got this annoying obsession with leashes and there ripping people off by charging 5 quid to buy one there which is a bit dissapointing.

If anyone is considering its totaly worth the trip but wouldnt recommened more than a day at each if your a decent rider who can get round quickly.

Dylanrobinson - Mar 09, 2010 - 02:04 PM
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philboarder wrote:

Aviemore has stupid amounts of snow its got complete coverage its insane. The park obviously still needed tidying up a bit which was pity.
Theyve also got this annoying obsession with leashes and there ripping people off by charging 5 quid to buy one there which is a bit dissapointing.

The three of us didn't use leashes at the weekend. I didn't see anyone enforce it either. I did see the sign at the ticket office window saying you should use them though. You should of ignored it like us.

And you right about the snow, It took a little time to warm up on Sunday but on Sat it was some of the best snow I've ever been on. Smile

The staff and organisation of the whole of the area on the mountain was second to non. Shame the funicular railway system was designed by a complete moron.

I drove 740 miles and did 2 days on the snow in just over 48hrs, but it was worth it and will hopefully be doing it again before it all melts.

Martin_4 - Mar 09, 2010 - 02:25 PM
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Scotland has been absolutely superb this season, have loved every minute of it, and Glencoe and Aviemore have been the big winners for me.

The off-piste around the edges of Glencoe have been great fun, Aviemore's just been spectacular and I'm loving the fact that we've still got weeks of it to enjoy. Just wish my new board would hurry up, I want to get it out there asap.

Don't know if there are many guys on here who work on the lifts etc at any of the centres, but can I just say a big general thanks and well done - they've been brilliant.

Have to confess to a previous (ill founded) fear of solo t-bars for some daft reason. Confessed all to one of the guys and he couldn't have been any more helpful. Five minutes of quick chat and he had me up and running and wondering why I'd been making such a big deal of it in the first place.

Have to say I wasn't hassled for lack of leash. Great service all round and an unbelievable amount of work going in at Cairngorm to dig out the train etc.

philboarder - Mar 09, 2010 - 03:20 PM
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Oh Dylan i did ignore the leash thing but our first attempt to get on the Funicular i got turned away for not having one. Bit of rummaging in the car found some cord done. Got asked 3 times after that at varying lift stops. Spoke to one of the lifties about it who said it was a bit of joke but managment were putting there foot down.

Agreed with the comment about the lifites. Big thanks to all the lifties for doing such a good job on running the slopes queues were small and quick.

Dylanrobinson - Mar 09, 2010 - 04:04 PM
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philboarder wrote:

Oh Dylan i did ignore the leash thing but our first attempt to get on the Funicular i got turned away for not having one..... Got asked 3 times after that at varying lift stops. Spoke to one of the lifties about it who said it was a bit of joke but managment were putting there foot down.

Was that yesterday? Maybe when its a bit quiter they spend a bit more time looking for them. Unless we were lucky!

I had some good banter with the staff, not a grumpy face in sight. Its was great to see a good atmosphere on the hill, makes for a pleasing visit. Smile

philboarder - Mar 09, 2010 - 06:54 PM
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Yeah that was Yesterday it was super quiet tbh. We queued for some toes but not more than a minute and everyone was doubling up on the t bars good to see.

The lift that comes up from the old chair lift is a killer though

galoshes - Mar 09, 2010 - 06:56 PM
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right then.

I've never boarded in Scotland before. The forecast for the next week seems to be clear and bright.
I'm well up for doing a trip up from the deep south.
Cairngorm seems to have the best conditions at the mo. Million poond question: what will it be like in a week's time? Worth doing?

Thanks

Dylanrobinson - Mar 09, 2010 - 07:12 PM
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Yes.

The snow is mega deep so will last a while. It took them over a week to dig the funlicular and it only reopened on Sat.

Dylanrobinson - Mar 09, 2010 - 07:14 PM
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philboarder wrote:

The lift that comes up from the old chair lift is a killer though

Haha, first run down on Sat we got lost in the fog and ended up down there by accident. dunno how long it is but it's huge, I felt like I was on it for 20 mins!

philboarder - Mar 09, 2010 - 07:17 PM
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You Wont be dissapointed but if your coming up from the south i would suggest hitting a couple of the slopes up. You can do Glen Shee The lecht and Aviemore in a nice circular trip.

We had a stunning Blue Bird on monday we could see the Nevis range from top of Aviemore

dawsonca - Mar 12, 2010 - 09:22 AM
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This thread is seriously wetting my appetite......down side is the earliest we can head to the hills is Easter weekend, hope the white stuff is still there Cool

Any of you guys ride that late in the season? Hit and miss?

Chris

StevieMcK - Mar 12, 2010 - 09:57 AM
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dawsonca wrote:

This thread is seriously wetting my appetite......down side is the earliest we can head to the hills is Easter weekend, hope the white stuff is still there Cool

Any of you guys ride that late in the season? Hit and miss?

Chris

Have a look at the Dawn of the Shred photos from the 17th April last year... nuff said Very Happy

April can be pretty good for sunny park sessions, tearing around the hill in a hoodie. I think we'll easily get to the May Bank holiday this year before the resorts decide to shut for economic reasons rather than snow levels.

Martin_4 - Mar 12, 2010 - 11:26 AM
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So looking forward to Easter fortnight - am hoping for a fortnight of clear blue skies and a tour of as many resorts as possible. Been SO good so far this year (with the exception of one super icy day at Cairngorms which hurt like hell!)

dawsonca - Mar 12, 2010 - 12:56 PM
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nice one, looks sweet

just trying decide from the pics which is the better park....Cairbgorm Vans or Nevis Terrain Park?

StevieMcK - Mar 12, 2010 - 02:41 PM
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At the moment it'll be Nevis as they have a TTR comp on tomorrow. However, Cairngorm have one scheduled for Apr 3rd, so they should both be pretty similar by then.

philboarder - Mar 12, 2010 - 07:59 PM
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tbh the Cairngorm park was a bit of a mess and not what it stated on the website. There was two kickers a long rail and a flat down box.

There was some other stuff further down the mountain as well but it needed tidying up they were working on it while we were there but the park looks like it could have been bigger