•Glencoe Sledge Park

•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

Mountain snowfall this evening will fall below the lower slopes of the snowsports areas before fading to showers which will fizzle out as skies clear by dawn. A few cm of fresh due in the West, possibly 10cm plus in the Cairngorms.

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

OVernight rain fell to all levels but the freezing level lowered during Thursday and snow was falling to the lower slopes of the snowsports areas at dusk. Mountain snowfall will continue into the night, though easing to showers from the West before these fade out as pressure rises into Friday morning. Snowfall could range from 2 to 5cm in the West, but the Cairngorms could see around 10cm, with a chance that some spots could be nearer 15cm.

Despite damp conditions earlier, the snow surfaces in the West remained fairly firm as the temperature started to fall back. Expect fresh snow to be overlying a fairly firm base on Friday morning, some softening on lower sunlit slops, but elsewhere cooler temperatures and drier air should keep the new snow fresh, but also exposed older snow is likely to stay firm. The best riding early on will be on the newly pisted stuff with a layer of fresh snow cord to enjoy! As the day goes on some exploring to find the best turns may be rewarded, but be prepared that there will still he areas of harder snow around.

Where will be best on Friday? Check the cameras and rain radar in the morning to see where has caught the most snow! Temperature at Munro Level is expected to lower to around -3°c overnight, so some snowfall is expected to affect the higher parts of the East Coast access roads. However with snow fading pre-dawn and winds falling light, not anticipating any big drama on the road front, but with skies clearing and potentially damp roads be aware of the potential for dawn frosts.

For more advanced riders, Glencoe, CairnGorm or Glenshee are all still good options. In theory Glenshee could have the most extensive terrain, but remains constrained on Tuesday due the Fionn Pomas being out of action. For early intermediates comfortable with longer greens and easier blues, whether CairnGorm or Glenshee is best depends largely on how comfortable you are riding Pomas! CairnGorm has the advantage of the whole Cas side, being available from the funicular, with the funicular planned to make middle stops. The White Lady (red) and M1 (red) are in great shape. The Ciste Gully is loaded, but as there is no route to the West Wall Poma the gully has remained largely closed and the West Wall Poma is not operating, apparently because of insufficient snow for piste bashers to evacuate any potential casualties via the M2.

At Glenshee, Meall Odhar in particular has been one huge spring snow playground once things loosened up, there should be some fresh snow on Friday, but more accumulations expected on N to NE aspects. The loop from the top of Caenlochan via the Home Run and Tom Dearg and back up again is in great shape for blue level terrain and is being regularly pisted, this has been the pick in recent days. Tom Dearg is running for return from the Home Run only. The Cairnwell side is currently closed except the beginner area, but some of the Cairnwell side is anticipated to reopen at the weekend.

At Glencoe the action is mainly on the upper mountain, so really is only suited to those comfortable with the more challenging end of the blue spectrum and above in terms of terrain. But with so much SE wind, the upper mountain is a bit back to front, so still the opportunity to ride parts of Meall a Bhuiridh that are not skiable all that often! See photos for full report. A short walk is required to return to the Cliffhanger and Plateau Cafe from Old Mugs Alley, the Cliffhanger Chair should be considered just for access presently.

Nevis Range is closed for lift served snowsports. The Lecht was closed today and will stay closed Friday, as work to prepare harvested snow for a top up from the snowfactory on the nursery slopes continues. The Buzzard Poma will be open at the weekend also.

:: Glencoe Sledge Park

A beautiful forecast for Friday and Saturday, so these are definitely the days to aim for if planning going sledging this weekend! 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 -0.9°c, with the wind at 14 gusting 30mph. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was +0.5°c. At Base level (366m) it was +2.2°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -3.8°c. The Met Office station was reporting a NWt wind at 14 gusting 19mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was +0.2°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +2.1°c.

In the East the summit weather stations on CairnGorm reported -4.1°c, with a North Westerly at a mean of 32 gusting 40mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was +2.4°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS reported -1.4°c with a Northerly at a mean of 21 gusting 30mph.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

This evening and into the early hours of Friday mountain snowfall will lower to below the lower slopes of the snowsports areas before becoming more showery and fading pre-dawn as high pressure increasingly ridges in, This will give mostly light and variable winds on Friday morning, but some freshening later in the day is anticipated from the West. See snow report above for potential snow amounts.

Friday daytime will have largely clear overhead with extensive sunshine. Wind will ease to be light and variable with -3°c at Munro Level post dawn. By early afternoon Munro Level temperature in the region of -1 to 0°c. Older snow is expect to stay firm away from remaining areas of older snow on lower sunlit slopes. The cooler drier air should also help keep the overnight snow fresh through the day.

Wind speeds are expected to pick up late afternoon as a strengthening Southerly developes into the evening, however it now looks like this will peak overnight with the high pressure building to push the zone of stronger winds back off the West Coast.

Saturday is likely to be dry and bright with further good periods of sunshine, though perhaps not as extensively sunny as Friday. Munro Level temperature will lift to +1 or possibly +2°c by early afternoon on Saturday, possibly an earlier inversion layer and dry air aloft is likely to keep older snow firm off directly sunlit slopes even as temperature rises. Southerly wind around 15 to 25mph gusting 30mph.

Unfortunately it looks as if the high will slip far enough East to allow damp, misty and drizzly conditions to spill in for or during Sunday with a freshening South to SSW wind. Likely to become murky with clagged in conditions particularly on Western mountains and the Southern side of the Cairngorms. CairnGorm should be a bit brighter, but the Lecht is most likely to stay dry on Sunday,

:: 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 6.20am, other cams come on shortly after 6.30am. Sledge Park camera streams overnight. The mid mountain weather station wind direction is not working, other data valid.