General Situation // Scottish Ski & Winter Activity Report // Winterhighland

A dry and bright, but fairly hazy / overcast Easter Monday at CairnGorm and Glencoe, but this evening the clouds have broken up more and CairnGorm and Meall a Bhuiridh are basking in spring evening sunshine, setting the scene for a largely bluebird start to Tuesday.

It will definitely feel like spring has well and truly sprung with parts of the Central Highlands and Moray nudging 20°c on Tuesday. However there is a catch, those high temperatures will in part be driven by a strong South to SE wind coming over the mountains and there is some uncertainty about just how windy it may be. On the Cairngorm Plateau and through the Nevis Range mountains, plus the respective surrounding Northern downslopes, gusts to 55 to 60mph could occur and this would be strong enough to impact at least some of the planned uplift as the strongest gusts will not necessarily be on the highest terrain either.

Glencoe usually fares better in SE wind, not getting the full impact from the forecast mountain speeds. However, wherever you are thinking of heading on Tuesday, probably best to hold of buying a ticket until the morning just in case.

Across the open terrain at CairnGorm and Glencoe it was softening machine groomed and skier packed snow by Monday afternoon. With the rapid rise in temperature, areas which have been less trafficked will likely start the day a bit sticky. Freshly groomed runs and the most heavily skied areas on Monday will give the best riding, with the more recent snow already getting mixed into the older base, so will become more granular spring snow.

A bit more gradient on days like Tuesday will help too, so the Main Basin and Spring Run at Glencoe and the White Lady at CairnGorm should all be fantastic in the spring sunshine on Tuesday.

CairnGorm has a solid base on the open terrain so though there will be a progressive cosmetic loss of thinner recent snow cover from open slopes, not much change is expected on the runs that have been open recently. Even if only the Funicular is able to run on Tuesday, that will still give access to a mix of green / blue and red terrain on the Cas side mid mountain.

At Glencoe the same will hold for the upper mountain runs and the Wall (mid mountain red), where there will be little change in cover despite the temperature forecast for Tuesday. However, due to the recent accumulations from Storm Dave, Glencoe has been able to reopen the Plateau Poma and Coire Pollach Tows, which meant on Easter Monday there was terrain suitable for all ability levels. But there is almost no base under the recent snow away from Old Mugs Alley in terms of the Plateau runs, so these will deteriorate through the day. Just how much impact the warm temperatures have on the new snow will rather depend on the impact from the wind. Colder conditions and a return to mountain snow is expected later in the week.

Check out the photos from Sunday and Monday for a full report on conditions at Glencoe.

Nevis Range have scheduled the Alpha Tow and Goose T-bar for Tuesday, the upper Goose is absolutely loaded and there is a decent cover as of update to the base of the T-bar. However only the Alpha is likely to run in the morning, with the Goose hopefully following later. However, the SE winds could scupper things, so check AM updates. The Gondola is particularly exposed to SE wind due to local topographic wind acceleration.

Glenshee and the Lecht are currently closed for snowsports. At update the CairnGorm Ski Road, the A939 Lecht Pass and the A93 Cairnwell Pass were open and clear.

:: Glencoe Sledge Park

The Sledge Park is full length and in great condition. Snowmaking continues round the clock. There are over 150 sledges to grab at the Plateau Cafe, sledging is complimentary!

It is advisable to arrive before 2.30pm 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 lunch time. Last chair down scheduled for 4.30pm.

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:: 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/ .

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:: Mountain Weather

At 6pm in the West at the Glencoe SSC hut (850m) the temperature was +3.1°c, no wind data is available. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was +5.7°c. At Base level (366m) it was +6.6°c with the wind at 10 gusting 20mph.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -0.1°c. The Met Office station was reporting a South wind at 27 gusting 40mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was +4.7°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +9.9°c.

In the East the summit weather stations on CairnGorm reported -0.1°c, with a Southerly at a mean of 31 gusting 43mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was +10.1°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS reported +2.3°c with a South wind at a mean of 29 gusting 37mph.

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:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

On Monday evening skies were clearing and a widely sunny Tuesday is on the cards, but with a strong South to SE wind. Into double figures at Munro Level on Tuesday, widely +9 to +10°c, but on Northern slopes +11 to +12°c is expected, a few spots may edge into the low teens at 900m! Low level spots to the North and NW of high ground will see temperatures in the upper teens, with a few spots nudging 20°c.

While overhead should be excellent the SE wind could get as high as 40mph gusting 50 to 60mph in prone locations.

Becoming more overcast for Wednesday, particularly in the West, with a risk of lower cloud and drizzle on hills closest to the coast later in the afternoon. FL lowering to or close to the higher summits with between +3 and +4°c expected at Munro Level. Brighter for longer in the East, and the strong SE wind veering West and becoming moderate.

Balance of model output suggests cooler conditions returning to the Scottish mountains to end the week. A cool Westerly on Thursday with mountain snow showers coming in from the West, mixed with some brighter spells, fewer showers and more brightness in the East. Munro Level temperature likely to fall to somewhere between 0 and minus 2°c. Stiff Westerly wind around 20 to 25mph with gusts to 40mph widely at Munro Level.

Possibly more organised mountain snow in the West on Friday with a strong or Gale Force Southerly wind, more showery in the East. Munro Level temperature most likely to be in the region of -1 to -2°c, but forecast models have a range from +2 to -6°c!

The start of next weekend looks like Highland Scotland being close to the boundary between light and variable winds and stormy Southerlies. On balance the model output leans towards lighter winds, but only small shifts could change that.

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:: Webcams and Weather Stations

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

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

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