Where's the best skiing in Scotland?

I think it was late February. Things weren't great and it was blown off a lot of the days. It was mid week.

Snow Time wrote:When were you up in February? That's when we had the amazing snow. I skied 3 out of the 4 weekends in February, once at the Lecht and twice at Cairngorm and it was fantastic.

23rd to 26th. It was midweek. The snow was sh1te, many runs were shut, I was in touch with Ross and he advised me not to waste my time.
Dont mean to pee on your chips, but when I was up and had brought my stuff with me in readiness, the conditions were not condusive for decent skiing. Which is kind of what everyone is trying to say on here, that you cant plan to ski in Scotland. Its fine if you live a couple of hours away and can bail at the drop of a hat when the conditions are great, and I do appreciate they CAN be from time to time, but its so unreliable. You couldnt pick a week in advance, book accommmodation etc, drive up and get a weeks skiing in, unless something miraculous happened. When I go to Europe, I have always been able to ski all week (bar 1 day in Sauze when many lifts were shut due to high winds). And yes - for what its worth, some of my trips to the alps have been pretty last minute, although I always plan one main week in advance.
I'd love to be able to get in the car when I chose to, drive up and ski all weekend in perfect conditions, but it hasnt happened yet. Its actually almost as close for me to cross the channel and drive to france than it is to drive to the Scottish resorts anyway, so given the choice, with the greatest respect to Scotland and those who live there, give me Europe any day.

Tony_H wrote:

Snow Time wrote:When were you up in February? That's when we had the amazing snow. I skied 3 out of the 4 weekends in February, once at the Lecht and twice at Cairngorm and it was fantastic.

23rd to 26th. It was midweek. The snow was sh1te, many runs were shut, I was in touch with Ross and he advised me not to waste my time.
Dont mean to pee on your chips, but when I was up and had brought my stuff with me in readiness, the conditions were not condusive for decent skiing. Which is kind of what everyone is trying to say on here, that you cant plan to ski in Scotland. Its fine if you live a couple of hours away and can bail at the drop of a hat when the conditions are great, and I do appreciate they CAN be from time to time, but its so unreliable. You couldnt pick a week in advance, book accommmodation etc, drive up and get a weeks skiing in, unless something miraculous happened. When I go to Europe, I have always been able to ski all week (bar 1 day in Sauze when many lifts were shut due to high winds). And yes - for what its worth, some of my trips to the alps have been pretty last minute, although I always plan one main week in advance.
I'd love to be able to get in the car when I chose to, drive up and ski all weekend in perfect conditions, but it hasnt happened yet. Its actually almost as close for me to cross the channel and drive to france than it is to drive to the Scottish resorts anyway, so given the choice, with the greatest respect to Scotland and those who live there, give me Europe any day.

Very well articulated old boy :wink:

One tries ones hardest

I think you were unlucky with your timing. I skied on Saturday 28th Feb and had a great day out with the kids. As I've said before the wind, rather than the lack of snow, causes the real problems at Cairngorm during most seasons. When the wind gets above around 35 mph they start to close the upper tows.

MyWeather.com (http://www.myweather2.com/Ski-Resorts/Scotland/Cairngorm.aspx) provides a very accurate 6-day forecast and I have found it to be very reliable.

Having said that, I completely understand that nobody wants to waste time and money by gambling on conditions, and most people have to book holidays in advance.

Ultimately, although you can't guarantee conditions in Scotland as you can (almost) in France, Austria and Switzerland, the skiing can be brilliant when the wind is down.

Snow Time wrote:I'd suggest that whizzing down a piste in the alps is not something you would normally think of arranging two days before setting off.

I would :D

Seriously though, now my folks have moved back to Bonnie Scotland, I will be taking a board with me whenever I visit them in the winter.

Snow Time wrote:

MyWeather.com (http://www.myweather2.com/Ski-Resorts/Scotland/Cairngorm.aspx) provides a very accurate 6-day forecast and I have found it to be very reliable.

i use www.winterhighland.com for weather forecasts etc-very accurate and updated veryday by the people up there-not by someone looking at a computer!
also used by climbers and they swear by it!

rossyhead wrote:i use www.winterhighland.com for weather forecasts etc-very accurate and updated veryday by the people up there-not by someone looking at a computer! also used by climbers and they swear by it!

The Winter Highland website is very good but it doesn't give a longer range forecast. However, for current and next day conditions it's excellent. I also use the Met Office synoptic charts which, again, give a very good 4-day forecast.