Fresh falls of snow over the tops of the Cairngorms last week enabled intrepid CairnGorm Mountain Ski Ambassador Helen Rennie to achieve a lifetime’s ambition on her 100th day of skiing at the resort since 29th November 2009.
Having walked up near to the summit of CairnGorm (1245m) Helen was able to enjoy some skiing for the 12th month in succession when she skied in the Marquis Wells area of the mountain descending to the top of the Ptarmigan Tow, a distance of about 500m with a vertical drop of about 70 metres.
“In all the years I have been skiing at Cairn Gorm I have skied in all months of the year over the years but this is the first time I have ever skied every month in succession for 12 months continuously. I am thrilled to have achieved 12 in a row at last.” commented Helen who lives in Inverness:
Helen had to walk up to the summit carrying her skis in order to achieve her ambition as there is insufficient snow yet on the mountain to warrant operating the skiing uplift there. The last day of skiing with mechanized uplift at the resort took place on 21st June 2010 bringing to a close a record season which saw over 145,000 skiers visit the resort.
Expectations for the coming season are high with the resort reporting a 20% increase in advance purchases of season tickets over last year’s figure. The snow last week also brought out large numbers of Scottish half term holiday visitors who travelled up on the funicular to experience the snow on the viewing terrace at the top.