Skiing in Scotland Begins
11th December 2024
Last modified on January 7th, 2025
Glencoe is out of the blocks, opening after wintry conditions provided a boost for some pre-Christmas skiing and snowboarding in Scotland. PlanetSKI has been making some turns.
Glencoe says visitors would find early season conditions with some soft, groomed snow.
The sun was out and it was a bluebird day on Wednesday.
Access to skiing is from the Rannoch Chair.
The sledging slope is also open and at its full width and length.
Glencoe had planned to close its ‘earlybird’ discounted price for season passes once skiing got under way but it’s now been extended.
“So that nobody misses out we have decided to extend the Earlybird offer to 4pm on Sunday 15th December,” the resort said on social media.
Among the skiers out was PlanetSKI’s Scotland reporter, Rod Frazer.
“Glencoe won this seasons bragging-rights as the first ski area in Scotland to offer lift assisted skiing,” said Rod.
“The Highlands following some snow last week has been sitting under a high pressure for a few days, so we headed over for a sunny ski at Glencoe.
“Skiing was limited to a few of the lower runs as the upper mountain was pretty wind-scoured, but it was great to dust off the skis for the new season.”
Glencoe, Scotland. Image c/o Rod Frazer.
“Unfortunately there is some mild weather in the forecast for the next few days, however colder temperatures and snow is forecast in the days leading up to the festive season, which is positive for xmas and New Year,” added Rod.
Glencoe, Scotland. Image c/o Rod Frazer.
See here for Rod’s Instagram post:
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Elsewhere in Scotland, The Lecht will open its lower beginner runs this Saturday, 14th December with artificial snow.
Cairngorm Mountain Resort is hoping its troubled funicular lift, which provides access to the top, will re-open by the end of December or early January.
In the meantime they’re busy pumping out the factory snow to add to what’s fallen naturally.
Online booking is open for lift tickets for Glenshee.
“We plan to open for snowsports on 21st Dec ’24 with man made snow on 2 x beginner runs and 1 x intermediate, more if we get enough natural snowfall,” Glenshee says on its website.
There’ll be no snowports for the foreseaable future at the Nevis Range, however, whatever the weather.
It announced in November that it would not open in the first part of the winter, blaming climate change for its failure to open for more than a few days in January in recent years.
It is, though, open for visitors.
The daily avalanche reports for Scotland start on Thursday 12th December.
Six areas are covered:
- Lochaber
- Glencoe
- Creag Meagaidh
- Southern Cairngorms
- Northern Cairngorms
- Torridon
In addition to the daily forecasts, the SAIS also have a free online resource for Scottish hillgoers to learn more about how to evaluate the avalanche hazard to help with decision making.
The forecast is for it to stay cold and dry in the Highlands with plenty of sunshine into the weekend.
There could be more unsettled from the start of next week with the temperatures set to rise.
Let’s hope that this winter in Scotland will at least be better than last year.
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