•Glencoe Sledge Park

•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Peak Half Term - Limited on mountain hire availability left

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

With Half Term in full swing on mountain hire is extremely busy with pre-bookings and ski school groups. Do not rely on hiring on mountain, unless you have pre-booked. Please be aware that Nevis Range has no operating equipment hire. See Half Term info below.

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

If planning to visit Glenshee using the Ember Bus from the Dundee side, only 5 seats left for Saturday at time of update and it sold out last weekend!

LATE UPDATE: A939 Lecht Pass snow gates have been closed for the night since full update posted. At this time the A93 Cairnwell Pass and CairnGorm Ski Road are open.

Dawn broke with clearing skies in the West this morning and the lifts closed with bluebird skies overhead at Glencoe as the sun went down. Some cloud came in just after sunset, but this has cleared through and it is clear to the summit at Glencoe at update with starry skies over Rannoch Moor.

The overnight snow showers that came in off the Moray Firth brought a dusting to CairnGorm and Glenshee, but the Lecht caught a bit more with around 3 to 4cm of fresh snow.

With a hard frost due tonight take care on the roads in the morning, lowest temperature likely to come just after dawn. Check of http://www.snowgatecameras.co.uk for road updates.

CairnGorm was able to operate all uplift bar the Fiacaill Ridge Poma on Friday, the same is planned for Saturday (piste crew are working to build an uptrack on the Ridge Poma, but this area was scoured by the persistent SE winds). The Daylodge and West Wall Pomas should hopefully open quickly, giving advanced riders an alternative and potentially faster route up the mountain. The M2 / Daylodge Run is the best route to the Cas Carpark.

On CairnGorm the Funicular is offering 1550ft of non-surface uplift vertical with a mix of green, blue and red terrain accessible from the train. The White Lady, East Lady and M1 RaceTrack are in great shape with spring snow for more experienced riders, and the M2/Daylodge run is a great option from the train for blue terrain skiers / riders.

In terms of snow cover, the East has fared best recently and with the persistence of winds from the SE quadrant it is Glenshee that has seen by far the most snowfall accumulate. After what seemed like endless digging out with one step forward and two back at times, the Caenlochan Poma is hopefully ready to roll for Saturday after refusing to play on Friday! The wee Beag Poma is also open to help move around the middle valley and the Meall Odhar cafe is due to be open, please note that this cafe is CASH only.

To get the most out of Glenshee you really need to be comfortable with the Pomas, but there is should be a decent amount to get at on the Cairnwell side from the Cairnwell Chairlift including the Tiger (black), Thunder Bowl (red), Cairnwell RaceTracks (red + blue) and part of the Bunny Run out into Butcharts Coire.

Given the snow situation, CairnGorm and Glenshee are likely to be the busiest. Patience might be a virtue, but with good visibility a bit of observation of what is happening around the mountain in terms of queues can get you a lot more riding!

Out West Glencoe is more suited to more confident intermediates and above, as by far the best riding is on the upper mountain at this time. For green run terrain, CairnGorm and Glenshee have more options with considerably deeper and wider cover given the predominance of SE winds in recent weeks. But for the more experienced, the top of the mountain at Glencoe is a whole bunch of fun with opportunities to ride stuff that is usually just boulder-fields, as thanks to those SE winds the mountain feels almost back to front!

On the Plateau for those looking for green run terrain, Old Mugs Alley from the Coire Pollach Tow is the best option, using the loop round via the Plateau Cafe. The Poma Run is agricultural, you will be ploughing a field not practicing snow ploughs at the bottom of it. Rankins Return was a bit a rattly today with the much colder temperature, but remains the best option for returning to the Access Chair (using the wrong side of the fence for a large part of it),

At the Lecht the main runs are still complete and mostly full width between the fences, there are still some worn areas with icy patches on the steeper face, particularly on the Grouse. The Buzzard side has an extensive wide cover and the nursery slopes by the magic carpets have a great base and in are tip top shape thanks to a refresh from the fan guns overnight.

Nevis Range plan to open the Alpha Button and the Goose T-bar, work to locate the Summit Button haul rope continues! The Home Run / Rabbit Run provide a return from the Goose to outside the Top Station. Note, there is NO equipment hire available at Nevis Range and no downhill ski or snowboard hire available in Fort William.

:: Glencoe Sledge Park

The Sledge Park at the Plateau Cafe is in excellent condition! 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

Weardale operated one tow on Friday with around 10 to 15cm of new snow, some drifting so deeper and thinner areas. With a cold night with temperature of -6°c expected, some runs will be pisted for Saturday and both tows due to run from around 9.30am.

Allenheads also run one of their rope tows on Friday, ground was very wet under the new snow in places, but with a sharp frost tonight things should dry out / crunch up. Some shovelling maybe required for the tows first thing, but both expected to run on Saturday.

Yad Moss will operate the Poma from around 10.30am on Saturday, no walk up tickets, but a limited number of day tickets are available online. As at Weardale some deeper drifts along fences and in hollows, but thin areas and some areas of frozen grass.

Over at Raise, the Lake District Ski Club will not operate on Saturday. There is a thin cover of wet snow, but ground is very wet underneath. With a frost tonight and snow possible Saturday night, a Sunday opening may be possible, subject to weather.

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 -5.1°c, wind at 10 gusting 16 mph. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was -2.0°c. At Base level (366m) it was 0.0°c with a SE breeze at 3 gusting 5mph.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -6.3°c. The Met Office station was reporting a North wind at 12 gusting 17mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was -2.2°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +0.8°c.

In the East the Met Office Summit AWS on CairnGorm reported -7.1°c, with a North Westerly wind at a mean of 29 gusting 37mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was -1.5°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS reported -5.9°c with a North wind at 31 gusting 40mph.

:: Peak Half Term - Limited on mountain hire availability left

While some locations have been on half term this past week, the majority of English schools broke up on Friday. Over 2/3rds of Scottish local authorities will have their half term break or long weekend include this weekend. Overall this Saturday through and including Wednesday are likely to be the peak Half Term days, but the rest of the new week will be busier than normal week days.

On-Mountain equipment hire is at capacity for several days already, do not expect to hire at the mountain when you arrive, if you have not reserved equipment in advance.

Please note that Nevis Range has no operational equipment hire. Glencoe hire opens at 8.30am and allows multi day hires for off site use, this is the only downhill ski and snowboard rental option currently available close to Nevis Range.

As always at half term, the best day to minimise hire queuing is if you have your own equipment, bring it! Safely fitting equipment takes time even with pre-booking.

If you still need equipment hire and are unable to secure an advance booking at the mountain, there are options for hiring on route. Then you will be ready when you get to the mountain. If you are travelling from or through Glasgow, try Ski n Board Room. For Glenshee try the Cabin Ski Hire at Bridge of Cally. There are several options in and around Aviemore for CairnGorm.

Carparks at Glenshee and CairnGorm are likely to reach capacity on peak days, on CairnGorm shuttle buses will operate from Coire na Ciste from around 9am. Please remember that there are currently no facilities at the Ciste Carpark.

With considerably more snow in the East, Glencoe is unlikely to have carpark issues over the next few days, but to keep things organised, larger 4wd vehicles please park in the top carpark above the Ticket Office. Only cars and small vans in the main carpark area. Campervans wishing to stay overnight will find the most level areas around the permitter of the overflow carpark.

Glencoe overnight parking - Saturday into Sunday

Due to the forecast for potentially heavy snow to low levels on Saturday night, if staying in the Glencoe accommodation, please only park in the row closest to the microlodges overnight, keeping the rest of the main carpark rows free of vehicles will greatly assist any snow clearing that might be required on Sunday morning. Campervans please try to park around the periphery of the overflow carpark on Saturday evening.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

A transient ridge of high pressure has been building in from the west during Friday, while the West and Glenshee had a glorious day, snow showers persisted in the Northern Cairngorms, with the Lecht seeing around 3 to 5cm of new snow. Showers should die back to immediate coastal areas exposed to the onshore Northerly flow this evening.

Saturday will probably see the best day for some time for many Highland mountains, with extensive sunshine, should be largely unbroken in the West until late in the day. Some patches of clouds may come into parts of the Cairngorms depending on the exact direction of the breeze. Cold with around -4 to -5°c at Munro Level through the middle part of the day, freezing at most levels inland with a sharp overnight frost. Take care on the roads, even some that were treated this evening could be prone to some icy patches particularly around dawn. On the mountains, wind light NNE in the East Highlands, becoming light and variable in the West.

Towards closing time in the West the first hint of what is in store overnight, as high cloud starts to build in and some gusts of wind start to make themselves felt as the wind becomes South Easterly. Post dusk in the West, and a bit later into the night in the East, winds will become abruptly Severe Gale, possibly even Storm Force SE then SSE, with persistent hill snow setting in, very difficult mountain conditions will develop quickly into and persist through the night with sustained blizzard conditions. Wind widely SE 50 gusting 70 to 80mph for a number of hours overnight, possibly continuing into the dawn / post dawn period (there is some uncertainty about how quickly the wind will lull as it veers more Westerly).

Snowfall on Western mountains will be persistent through the dawn period, before easing as the SE wind lulls for a period, but clusters of heavy convective snow showers will come in as the wind veers Westerly. These showers will at times merge into longer spells of snow, heavy at times, with a small risk of lightning. Wind generally SW or WSW around 25 to 30 gusting 40mph after the SE wind moderates and veers round, but gusts to 50 or possibly 55mph not out of the question under and near the heaviest convective shower cells.

For the East Highlands the overnight snow is expected to clear mid to late morning, with that SE Gales will ease as wind veers West, a mix of sunny spells and snow showers for the afternoon, but these showers less frequent and generally less intense than further West. Whiteout conditions at height in the Northern Cairngorms from both falling and blowing snow / low cloud.

Sunday will see mountain temperatures of minus 4 rising -1 or -2°c for a time, later dropping a degree to -3°c at Munro Level.

Monday will be a day of blustery snow showers coming on a West to WNW wind, these more frequent in the West, around -2 to -3°c at Munro Level. Strong WNW wind.

Early indications are a weak ridge of high pressure will settle things down from the West for Tuesday, freezing at most levels in land, with a slight NW breeze, becoming light and variable in the West where current indications favour nearly unbroken sunshine. Some light snow showers into the Northern Cairngorms on the NW wind over the top of the ridge. Temperature lowering to between -5 and -7°c at Munro Level.

There is considerable uncertainty for mid-week, some earlier model runs today showed a notably stormy day with substantial mountain snow on renewed SE Gales. However, some runs show a much calmer picture for Wednesday, this is partly down to timing, partly down to uncertainty about depth of a potential low pressure system. This emphasised by a greater than 50mb spread in surface pressure in the GFS ensembles for Wed afternoon into Thursday for the Central Highlands!

The Met Office MOGREPS suite goes from a 9mb spread in surface pressure early hours of Wednedsay to 41mb spread by the end of Wednesday.

:: Webcams and Weather Stations

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

GLENCOE: All mountain webcams online and the first updated images are from the Top of the Access Chair are around 7am, other cams come on by 7.30am. Sledge Park camera streams overnight. The mid mountain weather station wind direction is not working, other data valid.