BySean Newsom
Published February 2, 2024
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
For many British skiers it’s the final frontier. Not the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia, nor the island of Hokkaido in Japan, nor even the volcanic peninsula of Kamchatka in Siberia, but Britain itself.
You’ve probably heard rumours that it’s possible to ski in the Scottish Highlands. You may even have met a Scottish skier who’s regaled you with epic days to rival the Alps. But unless you actually live within half a day’s drive of those weather-beaten mountains, it could be unlikely that you’ll have anything more than a sketchy idea of where or how to do it.
Does Scotland have ski resorts like they do in the Alps?
Scotland offers lift-assisted skiing in five places: Cairngorm Mountain, Nevis Range, Glenshee, Glencoe and the Lecht. None is a resort in the Alpine sense of the word — with hotels, apartments and chalets attached. In winter they’re simply ski areas set in high and remote areas in the Highlands with the infrastructure to offer piste-skiing and snowboarding when conditions allow — and, in the case of Glencoe, a sledging run too. Expect the odd chairlift, one gondola and rather more T-bars and button lifts, as well as a day lodge that sells lift tickets and rents out ski and snowboard equipment. All five offer at least one cafe, too, and quite a lot of car-parking space — although it’s often not enough when conditions are exceptional.
With the exception of Nevis Range, all the ski areas offer ski lessons, which you’ll need to book in advance. Nevis Range can recommend local instructors who can be booked independently.
The very thought of skiing in such places may strike fear and loathing into the hearts of the champagne-and-canapes set. But if you like your outdoor adventures raw and wild, you’ll love their unvarnished atmosphere and the sense of space that yawns out wide, beyond the pistes. You’ll probably like the low food prices, too. Take Glenshee’s base-lodge cafe, Tea@theShee, for example. At the time of writing, its black pudding baps were retailing at an inflation-proof £3: unchanged since 2018.
In terms of overnighting, there are two exceptions to the no accommodation rule. Glencoe offers heated wooden micro-lodges with a separate toilet and shower block close to the car park. Meanwhile, Nevis Range has the Base Camp Hotel at the bottom of its mountain gondola. Usually, however, skiers will stay in a nearby tourist-friendly town or village: Fort William for Nevis Range, Ballachulish for Glencoe, Aviemore for Cairngorm Mountain, Braemar for Glenshee and Tomintoul for the Lecht.
How big are the ski areas?
Glenshee has the biggest on-piste ski area. When conditions are good, there’s around 25 miles of skiable trails here, ranged on either side of the Cairnwell Pass near Braemar. There’s an undeniable sense of size and grandeur, too, as you gaze across the yawning pass and realise there are descents beyond the immediate ridge lines. In fact, there’s enough terrain here to keep keen piste skiers busy for a full day, provided all the lifts and trails are open. For them, the steep outlying descent at Glas Maol is the big draw — although it’s often closed due to lack of snow on the intervening runs.
Meanwhile, the Lecht is the smallest of the ski areas, with 15 longer trails and several shorter nursery runs ranged on either side of the remote A939, deep in the Cairngorms National Park.
Do the different ski areas suit different kinds of skiers?
In some cases, yes. The Lecht is principally aimed at beginners and the wobblier sort of intermediates, who are still building their confidence and mastering parallel turns. It’s a great place to test whether or not skiing is for you.
Meanwhile, Nevis Range, 15-minutes’ drive from Fort William, is best known for its extraordinary Back Corries. These are three mountain bowls that lie east of the ski area’s long ridge and collect much of its windblown snow. The wind also shapes steep cornices at the top of many of the runs, and several begin with a jump. All are now classed as off-piste, but they’re lift-serviced when the rest of the ski area is open. When experienced skiers rhapsodise about the quality of Scotland’s off-piste skiing, this is the terrain they’re usually talking about.
The other three areas — Glenshee, Glencoe and Cairngorm Mountain — offer a good mix of skiing both on-piste and off when conditions allow. Cairngorm Mountain usually has the biggest terrain park for freestyle skiing and snowboarding. Glencoe has the toughest piste — the black-rated Flypaper, a properly steep, ungroomed chute at the top of the ski area. Edged with rocks, it requires precise, well-timed turns.
What’s the ski touring like?
Ski tourers walk up their mountains as well as ski down. They do this with the help of lightweight equipment, special bindings and detachable ‘skins’ that stick to the bottom of their skis. If you think that sounds like hard work, you’re absolutely right. But it’s also a form of skiing that really comes into its own in Scotland. Freed from the need to use a ski lift, you can seek out the best snow — wherever it is. You don’t need that much of it either. It’s not unusual for an outing to involve one long ascent and then a single stretch of downhill skiing to return to your car.
You do, however, need a high level of skill to tour independently. Not just because you’ll be skiing off-piste, in variable snow conditions. You also need to be able to combine weather forecasts, snow reports, map reading and avalanche-danger assessments in order to stay safe. If you’re not already an expert, try it with someone who is.
Glenmore Lodge, Scotland’s outdoor adventure centre near Aviemore, runs an excellent series of training programmes for keen, fit skiers with some off-piste experience. The courses are generally more weatherproof than a regular skiing trip, too.
How reliable is Scottish snow?
Generally speaking, you’re most likely to find Scotland’s pistes skiable between January and March, but you can never take its snow for granted. The essential problem is that Scotland’s mountains aren’t high enough to compensate for Britain’s flukey maritime climate. Changes in weather patterns and shifts in wind direction can have a dramatic effect on conditions. Generally, if the weather comes from the north, northwest or east then the white stuff can be abundant.
A spectacular example of that was 2018’s Beast from the East, which produced some wondrous days of skiing both on-piste and off in late February and early March. Another was New Year skiing at the very start of 2023. But just as likely are southwesterly winds which can douse the Highlands with rain. If that happens, the snow doesn’t just turn slushy. In a couple of days, much of it will be washed away.
How far in advance can I find out if conditions will be good?
Predicting what each winter will bring is a fool’s game. Even mid-range weather forecasting — from 10 to four or five days out — is tricky, though the charts from the European Centre for Mid-Range Weather Forecasting do usually give you a general idea of what’s coming. At shorter range, the General Situation page at Winterhighland becomes essential reading, as it discusses the likelihood of fresh snow or cold, stable conditions that will preserve what’s already fallen.
Use these information sources in conjunction with the social media feeds of each of the five ski areas. You’ll be able to track how it’s been in the days before your arrival and find out whether the area is open and what the conditions are like on the day you’re going. Pay particular attention to reports about the access roads. If it’s blowing a blizzard, they may be closed.
How far ahead should I book?
Booking months or even weeks ahead doesn’t work. Instead, clear the space in your diary, earmark it for ‘possible Scottish skiing’ and be ready to do something else if conditions aren’t right. If it’s just skiing you want, that may mean heading to the Alps or Scandinavia. But if it’s a Scottish winter experience you’re after, go to the Highlands anyway and hire a guide for some walking or wildlife-watching — or if you’re up for a challenge, book a place on an expert-led winter mountaineering course. Provided you’ve got proper, weatherproof clothing, Scotland in winter is a mind-blowing place: vast, empty and untamed. Anyone with an appetite for adventure should experience it at least once in their lives.
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