MrsMomo and I are currently house shopping and it’s looking increasingly less likely that we’ll be able to go on a proper holiday together this year, so we are looking at getting a few trips in exploring new to us bits of the UK.

With next week being half term in our neck of the woods (MrsMomo is a teacher) I was thinking about taking her away for a few days up to scotland, was hoping to get a couple of days on snow in while there.

Where should I be looking at staying, and is ski hire fairly straight forward (I have my own kit – snowboard – and MrsMomo has her own ski boots, but we would need to get skis for her) or am I just on a road to dissapointment?

Any advice appreciated.

Cairngorms – Aviemore as a base.

It’s half term so will be busy, but not impossible. All of the ski centres and nearby villages will do ski hire. Just decide which one you fancy, book accommodation and book ski equipment in advance.

Aviemore has lots of bike tracks and hire should conditions prevent you from getting onto the slopes.

Thanks guys, might have left it a bit late to get any reasonably priced accomodation in Aviemore. Don’t think i’ll be allowed to bring a bike with me, we’re visiting friends in Stafford this comoing weekend and I’m planning to go ride Cannock while there, can’t see me getting away with this 2 weekends in a row 😉

Not sure if this is your idea of fun, but I’ve hired a 4 berth VW T5 campervan for £220 for 4 nights in Feb.

That would open up quite a few more options and would let you stay flexible – just check conditions that morning and head to the best resort from your base.

There is a load of snow and it will be here for a long time, but the weather will dictate whether you will get up the slopes or not, eg yesterday Glencoe had to shut in the middle of the day because of strong winds. Plenty to explore if you can’t get up the slopes though.

cairngorm webcam
Might be worth looking at Newtonmore or Kingussie for someplace to stay if Aviemore’s out – about 15 and 20 miles away from the fleshpots of Aviemore.
Or, if you can find someplace to around Fort William you have options for both Glencoe and Nevis range – not a skier, but it’s nice to have options.

peterfile – Member 
Not sure if this is your idea of fun, but I’ve hired a 4 berth VW T5 campervan for £220 for 4 nights in Feb.

Which company did you use? We’ve been looking at doing this in the spring

You might not have as much luck as me Elshalimo if you’re heading in spring. I used Open Road, but was able to haggle with almost all of the hire companies on the basis that February doesn’t seem to be a very busy month for them.

Excess for all companies is high (about £1000), but easy enough to insure against that separately (about £30).

Thanks

I’d suggest mooching around this site for more info: http://www.winterhighland.info/

If you base yourself in Braemar/Ballater you have the choice of The Lecht or Glenshee ski areas. (Lecht beginner friendly, Glenshee is tremendous when Glas Maol is open).

Plenty of walking around there, too.
Braemar V quiet but access to some very beautiful places.

What bigjim says about the weather – we had 3 days at Glencoe a couple of weeks ago but the hill was stormbound.

Last week we had 3 days at Glenshee and i was surprised it wasn’t blown slightly nearer Inverness. (The ski area was evacuated on 2 days as the police wanted to close the road due to snow drifts).

Glencoe and Nevis suffer if the wind is coming from a particular direction (I forget which) but Winterhighland gives good info.

Cairngorm (Aviemore) seem to cop high winds and thick, peasoup cloud (to me,thicker than Glenshee, Lecht and Nevis). Too much snow can shut access train and I dont think they do reduce ticket prices when uplift is limited.

I don’t rate the Spittal of Glenshee Hotel.

We usually sleep in the car or at hostels – you’ll find these are prob booked up tho – well the car won’t be, i suppose 😀

In my opinion the best skiing is at Glenshee but I’ve not skied much at Glencoe and not brave enough to try the Back Corries at Aonach Mor (Nevis).

Tickets and hire can be a dreadful experiance at Cairngorm but you can hire in Aviemore and i think you can buy tickets in the town – but they have just introduced a new ticket system so best to check.

Glenshee & Nevis seem ok for Hire and ticket purchase, Lecht fine too but never hired stuff there.

As it’s ‘oliday time I would avoid Cairngorm and expect some queage where ever you go.

I love skiing in Scotland, when its good it’s ace,when it bad it’s astonishingly bad. 😀

There is a load of snow and it will be here for a long time

Playing merry havoc with climbing. Late season/spring should be ace though.

Aladdin’s Butress

Cairngorm earlier today

If the campervan option doesn’t work out, you could consider staying in or around Pitlochry as that gies you drives of around 1-1hr15mins to Glenshee, Nevis or Cairngorm. Personally, I don’t rate Cairngorm because of the ticket, hire and lift Q issues. Everywhere will be a little busy over half term and there is pent up demand after a month of solid snowfall and wind closing the lifts frequently. Upper levels have realistically 3-5m of base, in some places closing lifts as the towers and bull wheel huts are completely buried. If the overhead conditions play ball, the conditions will be epic. Nevis Range would be my choice as the one to go for to escape the crowds that will perhaps engulf Cairngorm or Shee. Overhead weather can influence your destination decision right up until the last minute, some days west is best, others east.
Gorm is gridlocked at 2500 punters; Shee can handle twice that if everything is running. Expect queues, start early, chill out and make the best of the day. It always quietens down enough by 3pm that you’ll be hard pressed to find a Q anywhere, so the last two hours can be great fun. Most centres stay open a little later when they’ve been really busy, helps send the customers away smiling. Everywhere has hire options, both on site and nearby. There are now at least four options on the road from Blairgowrie to Glenshee, for example, plus the centre itself. Hope you have a good one.