When you ask people where the best places to ski are, nobody even considers Scotland. In fact, many people turn their noses up at the thought of it. Why would you even bother kitting up for barely any snow, short runs and, well, none of the European aprés delights? When Storm Ciara rocked the UK, I was on my way up to Scotland for a week of outdoor activity. Nobody expected skiing in Scotland to feature.
Nevis Range
Whilst the options to ski in Scotland are relatively sparse, there are still several places to offer snow sports. Glenshee, Glencoe, even Aviemore, all offer ‘resorts’ to satisfy the itch that comes from the year off the snow. However, to be able to talk from experience, the Nevis Range is where I’ve found the skiing in the UK is not completely unfounded!
The location is also ideal for other activities, but when there’s snow on the slopes, who would want to be elsewhere? The resort boasts a range of runs for beginners to the more experienced, including some interesting off piste. A gondola takes you from the car park up to the foot of the runs, and this is where the adventure starts.
Beginners
New to skiing or snowboarding? No problem! From the top of the gondola there are instantly some small green runs. These are the easiest grade slopes and, in all honesty, targeted for children. Still, they are an easy place to get your legs in if you have only recently learned how to ski.
From the greens, there is a button lift up to the central hub. For the beginner, you can utilise the blue traverses or straight runs down to the bottom of the button. Our group was full of experience, so we used some of these blue runs as a warm up, before heading further up the piste.
Getting Tasty
To get to the summit, all the way up to 1,221m, you need to take the Goose T-Bar followed by the Summit Button. From here, there are a couple of blues and the red ‘Spider’ run which gently take you off the top. For something more extreme, the ‘Lemming Ridge’ black run takes you (unsurprisingly) along the ridge. This run has several drop off points where you can go off pisté down some severe gradients. Unfortunately, as the summit was closed due to a lack of snow, we couldn’t easily get to these runs.
Off the Goose T-Bar there are several winding reds that can quench the thirst for speed. Each run links nicely around the mountain to various lifts, providing quick turn arounds.
And Breathe
If you’re one of those snowsporters who enjoy that mid-morning coffee or cooked lunch on the mountain, you won’t be disappointed. Both the top of the gondola and bottom of the Goose, there are restaurants. Whilst they lack the ‘flair’ of Alpine aprés, they still offer a good range of refreshments. There is also a shop at the top of the gondola, which stocks anything you may have forgotten to bring with you!
To get back down to the car park, you need to get back onto the gondola. Personally, I prefer a ski back down to the car as I feel it completes the day. Nonetheless, the views coming back off the piste are fantastic. For a brief moment, I forgot I was in Scotland.
Worth It?
Short answer, yes. For skiing in Scotland, Nevis Range has everything you could want, albeit it downscaled from Alpine resorts. If the snowfall is good, the skiing follows. However, as unpredictable as British weather can be, you can never be sure if there is enough snow to fully enjoy everything the range has to offer.
An interesting read, thanks for sharing