Poor Winter for Scottish Ski Areas
11th April 2025
Last modified on April 15th, 2025
Resorts have described conditions as poor. There was the lowest number of avalanches in the past 40 years – an indication of limited snowfall.
Six mountain areas – Lochaber, Glen Coe, Creag Meagaidh, Torridon and Northern and Southern Cairngorms – are monitored for avalanche risk from between mid-December to mid-April.
The Scottish Avalanche Information Service, SAIS, has posted a provisional figure of 42 for the season, with its team describing snow conditions this winter as “lean”.
SAIS recorded 172 avalanches last season.
Its highest recorded number, 350, was in 2013-14.
See here for the full story on the BBC.
Co-ordinator Mark Diggins told BBC Scotland News in February that for the first time in nearly 20 years there had been periods during the latest season when SAIS had issued no daily avalanche hazard reports because snow was so scarce.
SAIS’ Creag Meagaidh forecaster said anecdotally it had been the “leanest” season for snow for the 1,130m (3,707ft) mountain and surrounding area in more than 30 years.
Only 13 recorded avalanches were recorded compared to 50 in 2023-24.
SAIS forecasts are used by hillwalkers, climbers, skiers and snowboarders.
However, one of Scotland’s mountain ski resorts is to keep artificially producing snow until next month.
Andy Meldrum, managing director of Glencoe Mountain, said it had been a poor winter in terms of natural snowfall.
The site started manufacturing snow in November and has kept it topped up since then.
The 80m (262ft) long slope open remains open for sledging and beginner skiing.
Mr Meldrum said: “We’ve not had a lot of snow, but have done okay. It’s certainly not the worst season we’ve had.”
See here for more on the BBC.
Glencoe, Scotland. Image c/o Dianne Frazer
The site’s snow factory can make 100 cubic metres of snow a day.
Other ski resorts, including Cairngorm Mountain, also use artificially-made snow during the winter season.
Cairngorm managed 100 days of skiing on their slope, before it melted.
The centre said snow sports could resume if conditions allowed for it.
Mr Meldrum said Glencoe has had one of its poorest seasons in terms of skiers, with about 7,000 so far when usually there would have about 25,000 visitors over the winter season.
But he said numbers of people sledging has been higher than normal – 23,000 so far compared to 15,000.
Mr Meldrum said it had been a drier winter than usual, which led to fewer days when it snowed.
He said: “We have a maritime climate. We’ve got used to that at Glencoe.
“We have amazing seasons, we have dreadful seasons, good ones and bad ones.”
Glencoe. Image c/o Rod Frazer
Glencoe, Scotland. Image c/o Dianne Frazer
“When it does snow we make sure we are ready to have everything open. When it doesn’t snow we try to provide other stuff.”
The snow slope is to be open for skiing until late April and sledging until early May.
The Lecht and Glenshee snowsports centres in Aberdeenshire are closed to snowsports due to a lack of snow.
In the season of 23/24 two of our reporters, Rod Frazer and Simon Wilson, were on the Scottish ski slopes in Fabruary – with mixed fortunes:
Rod Frazer at Glencoe. Image c/o Rod Frazer
The Lecht, Scotland. Image c/o Simon Wilson.
Related Articles:
- What is the future of skiing in Scotland?
- Skiing in Scotland begins
- PlanetSKI is back out on the slopes of Scotland
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