'Best ski season in years' on Scotland's snowy hills

Scotland's mountain snowsports centres say they have been enjoying their best winter in six years.

Glenshee has been open since the end of December and the resort said conditions in the last three weeks had been "fantastic".

Glencoe Mountain said it was proving to be the best season since the Covid pandemic hit in March 2020, while Cairngorm Mountain described it as a "great year" so far.

Away from the slopes, heavy snow and high winds have increased the avalanche risk on some of Scotland's highest mountains.

The Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) has already recorded three times the number of avalanches it noted for the whole of last season, with almost 100 of them in the last month.

Scotland's mountain snowsports resorts have previously endured some difficult seasons because of disappointing conditions including those in 2016-17 and 2018-19.

This winter, snow and several days of calm weather have allowed all Scotland's mountain centres to open for snowsports, though high winds have caused some disruption - and milder weather has been forecast for the weekend.

Glencoe Mountain boss Andy Meldrum said the site had more than 1,000 skiers and about 600 sledgers on Tuesday.

He said: "Best season since Covid. We have been open for skiing now since early January.

"Almost all runs and uplift on the mountain are open."

Friday is a significant day for the resort. It is 70 years since the first ski tow ran in Scotland, which was in the Main Basin at Glencoe.

David Farquharson, managing director at Glenshee, near Braemar, said conditions had been "fantastic" from about three weeks ago.

He said it had come just at the right time for schools' February half term break.

"Busiest day so far has been 2,500 people. Certainly already better than any since being shutdown for Covid," said Farquharson.

He said the big difference over the last 50 days was that the centre had been able to open up more runs than just its beginners' area.

Farquharson added: "The difficulty is finding the staff now as we are just a seasonal employer so we start with 15 full-time staff and are now employing 60 to 70, which is a big ramp up from our small base."

Cairngorm Mountain, near Aviemore, said it has had 23,000 skiers since opening on 21 November.

A spokesperson said: "Since then, we have had 68 days of snowsports available, with some of our surface lifts - including the West Wall Poma - operating for the first time in several years.

"The team on the hill has been working around the clock to keep operations running smoothly and is focused on maximising the snowsports potential this season."

They added: "The winds and drifting snow have caused some challenges, but they have also created amazing conditions on the mountain."

Nevis Range, near Fort William, and The Lecht, in Aberdeenshire, have also been able to open for snowsports.

A spokesperson for The Lecht, which opened on 8 January, said: "This winter has been a lot more successful than last year.

"We have had lots of natural snow which has meant we have been able to open up the whole hill rather than just the beginners area with factory snow."

Last year, The Lecht only managed to open its main uplift with natural snow for about five days and the rest was on artificially-made snow.

The spokesperson said: "We were constantly battling mild temperatures last year.

"There is some mild weather coming in over the weekend so hopefully it won't do too much damage."

While skiers have been enjoying the conditions, the heavy snow and strong winds have heightened the potential risk of avalanches on some of Scotland's highest mountains.

They include areas popular with hillwalkers, climbers and back country skiers.

It has recorded about 150 avalanches already this season - almost 100 in the last month, and more than three times the number it did for the whole of the previous season.

SAIS has issued "considerable" avalanche hazard warnings in recent weeks, including for the Cairngorms, Creag Meagaidh and Lochaber.

Has it been snowier this winter?

The Met Office says year‑on‑year comparisons of snowfall are difficult because of the UK's highly variable climate.

It said a single winter may see more or less snow than the previous one for many different reasons.

"However, when we look at the longer‑term picture, over the last 30 years, there is a clear reduction in the number of days with falling snow," said a spokesperson.

They added: "We'll need to wait until the end of this winter season before assessing how this year fits into that longer‑term trend."

The Met Office said one thing that was certain was that this winter has been wet.

"Meanwhile, a blocking high pressure system over northern Europe has slowed or stalled these low-pressure systems allowing successive weather fronts to deposit rain on the UK," said the spokesperson.

"Persistent rainfall since the start of the year has created the sense that winter is 'stuck on repeat,' with little to no prolonged dry periods."

They said western parts of Scotland in contrast have been much drier than normal.