•Lift Ticket Info

•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

Keep a close eye on forecasts if planning a trip this week. Strengthening SE winds, and increasing potential for heavier snowfall for some upland areas as the week goes on.

If you have been out on slopes please send photos to the email at the foot of this page!

Monday looks like it could be the day of the week for grabbing a week day slide, as wind from the SE quadrant is set to ramp up through the week as we are set to be in a squeeze between High Pressure towards Scandinavia and low pressure to the immediate SW of Ireland!

A better day than Saturday on Sunday, though still low cloud hung around some tops. However things dried out enough at Glenshee, for Butcharts Access Poma to reopen and Tom Dearg to make its season debut, getting lift served riding into the middle valley for the first time this season.

Both at Glenshee and low down on CairnGorm, more thin / worn narrow bits as a result of the damp conditions Saturday. The combination of recent thaw/freeze, along with heavier ski traffic at the weekend and strong SE winds, mean there are some scrapped / scoured icy areas around on CairnGorm. Heed patrol signage! At lower elevations the snowpack should loosen up to spring snow over the next couple of days, indeed the Lecht may have the best surface conditions, given it has the best cover at lower slope elevation.

The Lecht has nearly all main runs complete and they are full width between the fences with machine groomed snow, this may start Sunday firmer after the damp Saturday, before loosening up to spring snow. A couple of thinner / narrower bits on links to/from the Eagle area, but generally the fenced runs are in good shape. The nursery slopes by the magic carpets have good cover thanks to the snow making.

CairnGorm is able to offer top to Daylodge riding giving 1720ft of vertical on the Cas side and with both the DLP and WWP now open, there is an alternative fast route up for advanced skiers / expert boarders and ski tourer tickets are now available from the ticket office, for 2 surface uplifts.

After the big storm cycle the previous weekend, the White Lady (red) and Cas Gunbarrel (blue) have a decent base and width, but the upper Cas (as is often the case in wind with an Easterly vector) is narrow. At present only OverYonder is currently open to the WWP.

For intermediate terrain for those comfortable on blue run terrain, CairnGorm is the best option at this time with a selection of longer blue and green runs available, plus particularly for advancing borders, the option of riding much of the vertical and open terrain from the funicular.

Over in the West the visibility was coming and going at Glencoe, but the upper mountain stayed in cloud, so despite this being where the best snow / cover was (on the upper Main Basin and Happy Valley), many were hitting the mid mountain and plateau! However, Glencoe is offering the full on mountain vertical of 1400ft. See Saturday Pix from the Slopes for a fuller report.

If heading to Glencoe for sledging 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, last chair up at 3.45pm and last chair down at 4pm. Sledgers keep in mind, the Access Chair will be busier at the end of the day with snowsports underway.

All facilities at Nevis Range have been closed since Monday 5th January, including the base area. There is no lift assisted access to Aonach Mor for tourers or winter climbers at this time.

:: Lift Ticket Info

Weekend lift tickets may again sell out for the last weekend in January. During the week it is likely that ticket availability will be OK on the day. Note that due to the strength of forecast SE winds, CairnGorm have suspended online ticket sales for Wednesday and Thursday. As the FL slowly lowers and SE wind speeds increase further, there is an increasing risk of these affecting uplift operations at CairnGorm (and potentially road access later in the week).

:: England Club Fields

All club fields are waiting for new snow to arrive.

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 7pm in the West at the Glencoe SSC hut at 850m the mid mountain temperature was +0.3°c, wind at 12 gusting 22mph. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was +1.1°c. At Base level (366m) it was +3.0°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -1.7°c. The Met Office station was reporting a South wind at 19 gusting 38mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was +1.6°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +3.6°c.

In the East the CairnGorm Met Office Summit AWS reported -1.3°c with a South Easterly at a 32 gusting 46mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 7pm was +5.4°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS (3061ft /934m) reported +0.3°c with a South East wind at a mean of 30 gusting 39mph.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

Monday overall should see brighter overhead than the weekend, but it may start widely lagged in, with things forecast to gradually improve during the morning. The brightest overhead is expected to be in the afternoon. Around 0 to -1°c expected at Munro Level. Wind speeds will be nudging up during the day, gusts to 40 to 50mph quite widely on higher terrain, and likely pushing 60mph plus on the Cairngorm Plateau and surrounding Northern downslopes.

A widely windy week is now expected with strengthening SE winds between high pressure over Scandinavia and low pressure to the SW of Ireland. This is likely to start to affect higher surface lifts on CairnGorm by Tuesday (if not Monday PM) and could even affect the funicular through mid-week. SE winds are prone to funnelling through the Lecht Pass, so while speeds will not be as high as on and around the Cairngorm Plateau, some of the main slope lifts could be affected midweek.

As a general rule SE winds affect Glencoe less than the other areas, but there are limits!

The freezing level will bounce about a bit in the first half of the week, precipitation at higher elevations should mostly be snow, but there maybe some rain on lower slopes, particularly Tuesday and possibly early Wednesday, Thereafter Munro Level temperature is expected to drop back to around -2°c.

Colder air is looking likely to arrive on SE to East winds towards the end of the week, potentially bringing significant snow to the SE Cairngorms and Southern parts of the West Highlands. Once the temperature at Munro Level drops below -2°c, there is an increasing potential for issues on the East Coast access roads, given potentially moderate to heavy snowfall in strong to Gale, or in prone locations Storm Force SE winds.

:: Webcams and Weather Stations

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

GLENCOE: All mountain webcams online and the first updated images will be shortly after 8am. The mid mountain weather station wind direction is not working, other data valid.