Snowmaking in Scotland
Snowmaking in Scotland
Published : 16-Jan-2013 11:12
It has been the usual roller coaster of weather conditions for Scottish ski areas since the season started at the beginning of December
Although challenged by gales, blizzards and, according to one Cairngorm posting, wind chill down to -50C earlier this week, all five areas were able to open through the busy Christmas/New Year key business period, although there has not yet been enough snow for full top-to-bottom skiing at Cairngorm.
Last week's very warm temperatures led to a serious thaw on the slopes and four areas were forced to suspend operations and all but upper runs on Cairngorm were closed.
This week's cold temperatures have led to a reversal of fortunes however and four of the five ski areas have re-opened.
Unusually for Scottish ski areas however this is in good part due to snowmaking. Most of the Scottish ski centres now have snowmaking but temperature fluctuations make their use intermittent. However despite limited natural snowfall in the current cold snap Caoirngorm, Glenshee and the Lecht report snowmaking at maximum over Tuesday night in a bid to open more terrain.
Cairngorm reported Wednesday 16 Jan was an 'amazing day' with no wind, 4 inches of fresh powder on top and an increasing amount of terrain open (1,300 feet of vertical).
On the West Coast Nevis Range say they've had fresh snow but "it's like starting the season again" and Glencoe, a fourth area busy snowmaking, is open for sledging but needs more for skiing, hopefully by the weekend though with more snow forecast.
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