•Glencoe Sledge Park

•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

CairnGorm and Glencoe have extensive terrain options from mid mountain up, Glenshee will have Meall Odhar open on Saturday. Over 10 inches fresh at Glencoe past 36 hours! Get an early West Coast weather check - first images from Glencoe cams before 6am currently.

Been out on the slopes - please send us your photos to the email address at the foot of this page.

Clusters of snow showers continue to come in from the West this evening at there should be a further covering of new snow overnight. Lift served snowsports are set to be available at Glencoe in the West and CairnGorm and Glenshee in the East on Saturday, with over 36 hours of fresh snow falling and a temporary lull from a run of days of strong winds, Saturday is the day to aim for this weekend.

Wednesday and Thursday saw no lift served snowsports due to a combination of high winds and very poor overhead, while Friday saw only CairnGorm able to offer uplift via the Funicular and Cas Tow. Strong winds overnight with further snow showers and heavy drifting will ease post dawn on Saturday morning.

The West has seen the most snowfall since temperatures mid mountain fell back below 0°c yesterday lunchtime, with Glencoe seeing somewhere between 18 and 22cm of new snowfall, but one thing it most definitely is not is level! There are substantial accumulations of wind blown powder in areas, but some wind exposed slopes are scoured. The Main Basin and Happy Valley were being groomed regularly through the day on Friday to pack in new snow to reduce the risk of it moving elsewhere as wind changed direction, so this is probably where to start on Saturday morning, but between showers in brighter spells getting out and exploring should be well rewarded (please check with patrol for latest on the Eastern side of the Top Tows).

Both the Rannoch Button and Main Basin T-bar are scheduled to run, so should not be any issues with queues for the upper mountain and there are skiable routes via Mugs Alley and Old Mugs Alley to the Cliffhanger Chair and Plateau Cafe. Notable cornices were forming along the fence lines of Old Mugs Alley today, whether any other Plateau runs and any of the Plateau lifts can operate will need to be assessed AM. A lot of snow was moving across the Plateau snowfences on Friday afternoon, so hopefully the Poma uptrack is filling along with the likes of Rankins Return. More snow showers in less severe wind due overnight should further help.

CairnGorm has seen less new snow (around 5 to 8cm) but with significant drifting things are freshening up on the White Lady and Coire Cas, with the Top Basin in great shape. Good top to mid station riding for all ability levels with a mix of green, blue and red graded terrain available directly from the Funicular for those wishing to avoid surface uplift!

For more advanced riders both Glencoe and CairnGorm have plenty to enjoy, Glenshee is now limited to mainly Meall Odhar. CairnGorm is thus the best option for less experienced riders at this time, but if the Coire Pollach Tow or Rannoch Chair can reopen at Glencoe, then that would bring in some longer green run terrain. The only novice areas open to the public now (wind permitting) the Top Basin on CairnGorm with the Polar Express Poma for those starting out with the lifts.

With a return to strong winds on Sunday, Glenshee are warning Saturday could be the last day of the season, while there is still fairly extensive snow on Western aspects of Glas Maol and Meall Odhar, extensive work was required to rebuild uptracks to get the Caenlochan going for Saturday and Tom Dearg for return out of the middle valley and from the Home Run. Uplift other than the Caenlochan Poma is primarily for access, so only suitable for strong intermediates and above as the Caenlochan Poma runs up red graded terrain on Meall Odhar, some walking is required to get back to the Caenlochan Poma from Tom Dearg if lapping the Home Run.

Nevis Range is closed for lift served snowsports, however the SAIS reported great skiing on the Summit and Goose Gully on Friday for those prepared to put in the leg work.

:: Glencoe Sledge Park

The Sledge Park is full length and in good shape thanks to snow making from the snow factory. There are over 150 sledges to grab at the Plateau Cafe! It is advisable to arrive before 2pm at the latest for sledging to get a decent amount of time on the hill. First chair up at 9am, the sledge park is always quietest before 11.30am. Last chair down scheduled for 4pm.

:: England Club Fields

All the club fields are waiting for new snow to be able to reopen.

For both Weardale and Allenheads, you need to join the club with a season pass, these are still available for both at this time.

Please check club access rules / availability if not a club member / pass holder.

Weardale: https: //skiweardale.com/ .
Allenheads: http://ski-allenheads.co.uk/ .
Yad Moss: https: //yadmoss.co.uk/ .
Raise: https: //www.ldscsnowski.co.uk/ .

:: Mountain Weather

At 6pm in the West at the Glencoe SSC hut (850m) the temperature was -2.2°c, with the wind at 15 gusting 45mph. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was -0.1°c. At Base level (366m) it was +2.8°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -3.9°c. The Met Office station was reporting a SW wind at 24 gusting 40mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was -1.5°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +1.9°c.

In the East the summit weather stations on CairnGorm reported -4.5°c, with a South Westerly at a mean of 52 gusting 70mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was +1.7°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS reported -2.1°c with a Westerly at a mean of 53 gusting 65mph.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

Saturday will see a temporary respite from the run of stormy days with moderate winds and fewer / less intense showers, with sunny spells in between, with the North East Highlands potentially just about having a dry day. Around -2°c or -3°c at Munro Level, best of the brightness and sunshine towards the East. Westerly around 35 to 50mph pre-dawn, but will moderate to around 20mph gusting 30mph, but could be the occasional higher gust around heavier snow showers.

Saturday looks the best day of the weekend, with a return to gales on Sunday. However, if the wind stays just the right side of marginal for at least some of the available uplift, it could be a continuous freshies day at Glencoe on Sunday with clusters of snow showers moving in swiftly to give longer periods of mountain snowfall. In the East Highlands, more gaps between the showers with some brighter periods. Around -2°c at Munro Level, where the wind will be generally Westerly around 30 to 40mph gusting 50mph. Risk gusting over 60 to 65mph in and around heaviest shower cells, and more generally in the Northern Cairngorms and through the Nevis Range mountains.

Monday continues in a similar theme to Sunday, though cloud cover will probably be more widespread in the East than Sunday. Around -1°c at Munro Level, lowering -2°c in heavier bursts of snow and the wind will back SW, but with similar speeds to Sunday.

Currently expecting a very poor mountain day on Tuesday with Severe Gale or Storm Force SW wind, a wintry mix will see early snow revert to rain at all levels in the West before turning back to sleet later with the freezing level rising just above the higher tops as frontal systems come through.

Early indications are for a decent day on Wednesday with winds easing back substantially and showers (falling as snow on the mountains) becoming increasingly confined to near the West Coast as pressure begins to rise. Decent sunny spells developing, with zero to -1°c at Munro Level.

Beyond quite a spread in forecast data, but on balance rising pressure bringing a more settled period looks favoured as Northern Blocking becomes established just to the North of or over Highland Scotland. Hopefully Tuesday does not have too much impact on the new snow and we can look forward to a settled spell for some fantastic spring snowsports at CairnGorm and Glencoe, hopefully Meall Odhar at Glenshee too!

:: Webcams and Weather Stations

Lowther Hill: Leadhills webcam is online (24/7).

GLENCOE: All mountain webcams online and the first updated images are shortly before 6am. Sledge Park camera streams overnight. The mid mountain weather station wind direction is not working, other data valid.