Scotland’s Eastern Ski Areas Enjoy Snow

10th March 2023

There are some of the best conditions of the winter in the eastern resorts of Cairngorm and the Lecht. It’s cold in the west but there’s precious little new snow. NEW

It’s a tale of two halves – with great skiing on fresh snow in the eastern resorts and no snow worth talking about in the western resorts of Glencoe, Glenshee and the Nevis Range.

“Unusually we are still stuck under clear skies,” said PlanetSKI’s reporting team of Rod and Dianne Frazer.

“It’s very alpine at the moment, with no new precipitation to change things since the beginning of the week.

“There is however more precipitation forecast over the next week.

“Having said that, it looks like the East will get the lion’s share.”

Snowsport Scotland’s head of events and marketing Alison Grove has said that the cold weather is seeing many people itching to get out onto the slopes.

“While January was great, a warmer February means there is now a lot of pent-up appetite for snowsports in Scotland, especially as so many people who would normally travel abroad to ski have chosen not to because of the cost of living crisis and poor snow in the Alps,” she said.

“Looking at the forecast, this could be our biggest week of the year. A lot of people have been watching the forecast with bated breath – this is just what we’ve been waiting for.

“December’s cold snap caught us unprepared but everyone across the mountain ranges is preparing for an influx of visitors in the days ahead.”

She was speaking to the Daily Record.

People are advised to book tickets and ski hire ahead of time, and check the roads, forecast, and avalanche reports.

PlanetSKI has been reporting this week on conditions in Scotland.

Some Scottish ski resorts see snow

Here are the latest images from the Lecht.

The Lecht, Scotland. Image c/o Dianne Frazer.

Our Scotland reporting team of Rod and Dianne Frazer have been making the most of conditions.

Here is Rod’s assessment of conditions from earlier in the week:

“Winter has returned to the highlands,” said Rod.

“After a very mild February we finally have northerly airflows dominating highland weather for the foreseeable

“Even down in the village of Newtonmore we had -15 degrees last night under clear skies.

“So far the East of the country has had the best of the new snow but we still need more.

“The Lecht and Cairngorm have so far benefitted the most.

“The Lecht now has decent cover but still thin, luckily the hill isn’t rocky so the meagre new snow pack is still sufficient to provide superb sport.

“The upper mountain on Cairngorm still had a decent base so is now in great shape with the addition of the new snow.

“The Cas and M1 poma are now open again in addition to the top lifts so Cairngorm is now able to offer a large ski area with plenty of terrain for all abilities.”

“Glenshee is offering limited intermediate and beginner skiing on mainly manmade snow.

“In the West, Glencoe and Nevis Range still require more snow to reopen for snow sports.

“However with plenty of arctic air continuing to dominate the forecast it feels like only a matter of time before all the ski areas will get their fair share of the white stuff.

“We are still snow dancing here in the Highlands but at least winter is back!”