Hi

Planning 4 day trip to ski on Cairngorm sometime over Christmas / New Year.

Insider knowledge appreciated!

– are weekends overcrowded?
– where is best to stay in Aviemore area? Any cosy lodges to recommend?
– worth staying in Aviemore for NYE?

Ta

be cheaper going abroad I would think.

Yes, weekends are busy especially over the festive break

Stay outside its cheaper maybe boat of garten?

I think most folk end up in Mambos or Cairngorm hotel or thye used to before I had kids!

It can be wild and it can be beautiful be prepared for both extremes and you will be ok.

…just seem the ‘CAIRNGORM LOSERS’ thread… perhaps I’ve picked the wrong area?

Weekends are overcrowded – yes, but then again, if you are going up over the holiday then every day will be busy so weekend will make no difference. Sometimes they will only open part of the hill – if it looks like this will be the case, they limit numbers so turn up early to ensure you can get up the hill. I.e. get there for when the ticket office opens.

No idea about places to stay or about new year.

Weather is the controlling factor for opening. I had several brilliant powder days up there last year – better than abroad! So dont write the place off until you have tried it.

Check here http://www.winterhighland.info/

Its rubbish up hre….honest. 😯

Best go abroad……seriously 😆

Thanks for the tips so far everyone.

Get yourself to mountain spirits or one of the other ski hire place and get some touring skis and go play in the woods, its great fun something different and a good workout. You gotta roll with it, its Scotland not Banff!

Banff in Scotland

I live 30 min away from Aviemore. I would never plan to visit with the intent to ski. When its good conditions I turn up and have an ace time.

For context, I lived down south for over 10 years. Every year I would visit my parents for over a week at Christmas. Every year I brought my board up and never once did I get a chance to use it. Last year however, I had an amazing day on Christmas eve.

If you can be content bringing skis and using them if the conditions are good but be happy walking or biking if its not skiing weather then go for it.

Oh, and weekends really are best avoided. Just too busy to be enjoyable for me.

Two words
HIRE SKIS
or
HIRE BOARD

its what you shout when the rock come through and make that expensive scraping noise

It does get busy at weekends where there is good snow, so get up early in the morning to beat the rush (and to ensure a space in the top car park if possible). Get your hire / tickets sorted the night before if you can.

I can recommend a nice modern, comfortable house on the north of Aviemore that we stayed in. Had room for 8 and a hot tub which was nice. You can do part weeks (we did a long weekend in February last year). Drop me an email if you want me to track down the details.

There is a reasonable hire place downstairs towards the north end of the main street which we used. You can get tickets there too, which saves queuing when up the hill.

If you are staying in Aviemore, the Cairngorm is okay for a pint/food, although we tend to use the Old Bridge Inn for decent food and nice pints.

Have you skied in Scotland before?

Years of ski racing up there made me vow never to ski up there again, even though some how it feels closer than going to the Alps!

Cons

1. Its very expensive. Lift passes are higher than the alps when you consider the length of runs, lifts, ques etc. Accomodation isnt any cheaper than abroad either, and you will probably damage your equipment (rocks). You will also need good quality gear, the weather is much harsher in Scotland than it tends to be in the alps.

2. Conditions. You can have some fantastic clear days, but these are few and far between, tends to be white out, raining, 100 mph wind…. and then of course there can be snow one day and none the next.

Pro’s

1. Makes you a better skier as the conditions are that bad.

2. You can buy fish & chips ( you cant do that in France!)

3. You can buy a pint of bitter in a pub.