After an early season fraught with stormed off days, staff at CairnGorm ski area in Scotland have been busy pushing and digging the massive snowfalls from recent storms in preparation for the anticipated huge influx of skiers boarders and ski school pupils over the half term holidays.
The on-going storms have left the Ptarmigan top station building repeatedly buried in snow up to roof level and caused problems operating the funicular, but a concerted effort from the team of staff keeps clearing snow from roads, lifts and buildings so the centre can keep opening.
Drifts are 4m or more deep in places and up to the level of the roof of the Ptarmigan top station. The piste known for its normal shape as ‘The Gun Barrel’ has filled in completely to form a flat piste.
The resort’s highest tow the Ptarmigan has only a metre or so of its towers visible above the snow. There is a huge amount of snow too on the Ciste side and in the West Wall.
In anticipation of half term CairnGorm has issued a number of top tips which will improve visitors’ experiences over the holiday period. Customers are advised to get to the resort early, to car share or to use the public bus service as the car parks will fill up early and shuttle buses will run to the Ciste car park throughout the day.
To get information on conditions, the website and facebook are the places to look. These contain as up to date information as there is; if they have not been updated recently then there is no more up to date information available than is shown. Twelve CairnGorm TV screens in locations all around the site show the same piste and uplift status as the website and facebook.
The resort has installed a new hands free ticketing system which produces tickets faster than most people can get their cash or credit cards out so customers are requested to have their payment ready when they get to the counter. (There is no ATM at the resort.)
All snowsports tickets are now flexible and need not be used on the day on which they are purchased – they can be used on any day throughout the 2013-14 season – and multiday tickets for up to five days are available.
During half term it is hoped to get a half pipe dug out and shaped using the Pipe Magician pipe cutter which has been acquired from St Moritz in Switzerland.
The resort has also arranged to hire in floodlights again so that they can lay on one or two nights of floodlit snowports during the 15-23 February period. Exact dates will be decided at short notice nearer the time depending on conditions and announced on facebook and the website.
Half term events include a freeride event which is part of the Scottish Freedom Series on 22 Feb (with a reserve day of 23rd).
