Hello Gents,

Just wondering if anyone has been to Glencoe boarding/skiing in late Feb before? A couple mates and I have found a good deal (2nights B&B, with a 3day lift pass for £115) and am hoping to make it on the weekend of the 25th Feb.

Any thoughts? How is the resort etc…

We are pretty confident snowboarders and enjoy a mix of disciplines…but most of all just good ol’ long descents.

The reason we are thinking Scotland is because with fuel etc we think we can do three days up there for under £200 (4 of us in my vito from Plymouth) and only have to take the friday and monday off work.

Any thoughts?

Cheers

It’s a goood laugh, I like glencoe, but you have to be prepared to accept that the weather might mean you have limited or no access to the mountain. I’ve skiied Glencoe in late march and had brilliant conditions (well, great snow – the visibility was in and out). None of the scottish resorts are massive when compared to the alps, but if you accept them for what they are, they’re great.

FWIW, glencoe’s my fave scottish resort.

Obviously its impossible to know what the snow will be like then, could be epic, could be heather.
If I was driving all that way id go wherever the snow was best at the time, that would probably rule out your cheap deals tho.

The reason we are thinking Scotland is because with fuel etc we think we can do three days up there for under £200 (4 of us in my vito from Plymouth) and only have to take the friday and monday off work.

Any thoughts?

My thoughts would be drive to the alps on friday, ski/board saturday and sunday, drive home monday. That way you’d be guaranteed a good slide, Scotland could anything everything from no snow to pow and you probably wont know until the last minute. Plus if there is snow worth going for then the queues can get HUGE!

Ah right… Well maybe we could check the conditions and hope there are some late deals…say booking two days before? This is the method we use to book short surf trips and normally assures us good conditions. (morocco, canaries, france etc)

I am not sure what to expect in Scotland as I have never been at all. I have only ever snowboarded in Bansko in Bulgaria…the resort left a lot to be desired but the mountain/snow was great.

If we booked/got there and we couldnt actually snowboard it would be very bad times indeed!

Any thoughts? How is the resort etc…

More of a tea shop than a resort really.

Cafe is good 😉

If we get some snow then it will be fine.

I’ve been up that way pretty much every weekend this winter (including up the ski area itself).

Conditions this weekend were the best they’ve been (about 6″ of fresh up top on Friday) but it’s still miles off being great.

Plus, this is the windiest season i’ve seen in ages, which is causing a lot of problems on the slopes.

You’re best booking accommodation in the area, but not lift passes. That gives you the flexibility to head up to Nevis Range if need be (less than an hour away), or do something else.

Even if there is snow, it’s Scotland, it could quite easily be blowing a gale, whiteout, or raining 🙂

Look for Glencoe Ski Resort on Facebook/Twitter, they are good at providing updates.

I’ve had my best snow in Scotland, and had 6 odd holidays in the Alps/Pyrenees.

It’s not predictable tho. WCS, if Glencoe is shut due to the height, you could always drive to Aonoch Mor in Fortwilliam each day?

Right so its not sounding all bad then…I think the thing to do is try and book it just before we want to go.

Cheers guys

My thoughts would be drive to the alps on friday, ski/board saturday and sunday, drive home monday. That way you’d be guaranteed a good slide, Scotland could anything everything from no snow to pow and you probably wont know until the last minute. Plus if there is snow worth going for then the queues can get HUGE!

This ^^

Take bikes as well as boards.

it could be ace.

it could be 11dC.

it’s likely to be icy, and patchy, and windy.

plymouth? it may be quicker to get the alsace…

First time I went snowboarding was at Cairngorm. They got 18 inches in one dump as we were driving up and the A9 was shut behind us. Next morning was crystal blue skies and minus 3 to 5. We were up in the Ptarmigan Bowl and the hordes stuck south of Drumochter. Spectacular. I swear you could see the curvature of the horizon from up there on a day that clear (this was probably my imagination but…).

Two days later the grass was showing any the rain was coming in sideways. We went home.

When the weather is good the highlands are fantastic. But it is not as predictable or as facility-rich as the Alps.

You might ski for five days in Scotland before you hit that one perfect day; then it can be an absolute ball.

globalti –
Member
You might ski for five decades in Scotland before you hit that one perfect day; then it can be an absolute ball.

Ftfy

Comments above are fair- it may be mixed but yesterday was a grand day to be out on the hill at GlenCoe, loads of happy folk and a great vibe. The cover is good, especially on the upper half of the mountain and is deep enough now that it’s likely to stay that way for some weeks to come, possibly until May if much more falls.
For planning a weekend like this in Scotland, I’d make sure that I had a back up plan. Back up A: board at Nevis Range, a bigger hill with a few more runs and great accesible back-country.
Back up B: take your bikes. Kinlochleven sits very nearby and has one of the most concentrated and challenging selections of trails that you’ll find anywhere. There are plenty of options for a really challenging long day ride too, if that’s your bag.
It’s all a gamble.

I think highlandman has it pretty much right. I’ve had amazing snow on quiet days at Glencoe. But in general the weather has not been kind this winter and so if we do get a good weekend expect it to be busy. You won’t get amazing long pistes – Scotland isn’t big enough for that. A back up plan is essential. Bear in mind you could have such bad weather that both skiing and biking are effectively impossible – if you are going to moan about that for years to come don’t come; if you can be pragmatic about it and just enjoy the trip with mates then you might as well.

I doubt you’ll get a bargain if the forecast is looking good nearer the time. And its a **** lot of driving to get from Plymouth.

I’ve not boarded at Glencoe, but it’s probably like the other Scottish resorts with lots of drag lifts – and as a boarder you will know that’s not the best way to get up a hill. When I went to Glenshee last time, I was exhausted after battling with the poms all morning. Plenty of memories though! I’d load up the car with bikes and boards and just see what the weather gods throw down.

highlandman, poly etc. +1

Go for it. Bikes & snow gear and make the most of whatever the weather throws at you. Glencoe is mostly based around skiing/ boarding on natural snow traps and its unikely (given current depths) that a lack of snow alone will stop play by the end of Feb [/touch wood]. That said, any amount of other factors might so best have a back up plan if driving all that way.

rthomas17 – Glencoe has a mix of (old) chairs, t bars and buttons. And usually loads of boarders.

Glencoe has some awesome conditions at the moment, probably the best in Scotland.

get onto http://www.winterhighland.info to keep track of how things are looking.

Late night Poole-Cherbourg ferry, drive through night and you’ll be in the alps for breakfast.

Won’t take much longer or cost much more than driving from Plymouth to glencoe.

Driving from the South Coast to Ski in Scotland, for a long weekend = madness.

Maybe if your going for a week and have some other stuff planned but that is one long ass drive all for what is a 50:50 chance at best you get some good boarding in.

I was thinking of suggesting something similar Jam bo but the MAssif Central instead. It’s closer to Cherbourg and much cheaper than the alps for ski passes and accom and so fits in more with the OP’s Scotland idea. Sancy has 90km of varied terrain that is more enough for a long weekend

we-r – Member
Driving from the South Coast to Ski in Scotland, for a long weekend = madness.

^^This^^

Cheap flight from Exeter, or even a long drive to the Alps, is a waaaay better option.

reconsider.. anything more than a breeze and the lifts dont run the snow availability never mind quality is an issue.. if everything is spot on yeh go for it.. unless they ve had the recent snow 6 inch or more at base there is no wind and the carpark and roads are clear go south. ps its a long way even from manchester its 300 miles.. and the last 100 are on poor a roads..

Cheap flight from Exeter

Bristol maybe, but very few cheap ski flights from Exeter.

Bristol maybe, but very few cheap ski flights from Exeter.

Fair enough, didn’t know which was best!

and the last 100 are on poor a roads..

Nonsense, that section of the A82 is the most amazing road in the world 🙂

If your coming up have a back up plan and bring your bikes.

Skiing in Scotland can be good fun but planning more than a week ahead is too risky. Booking with only days to go I’ve had reasonable hotel deals for the last two years.
From Plymouth though?? nah! Get a ferry! It’s 9 hours for me and I’m int’north, you’d be a long way into France for the time a Scotland trip would take.

Years of back to back seasons all round the world, 250+ days on snow per annum – best days skiing ever: boxing day 1996 , fresh snow, nobody there, road closed behind us, blue sky. Epic.
But as said before it probably hasn;t been like that since 😆

But as said before it probably hasn;t been like that since

last year 😉

Glencoe, Scotland. 17th March 2011. Last stop on our two week caravan tour of all 5 scottish ski centres. Best. Trip. Ever.

“Any thoughts? How is the resort etc…”

LOL what resort???

Glencoe is basically a few lifts in a nice desolate valley a few miles from life. Its certainly not a resort!

If your on the South Coast I would head to the Alps, got to be quicker than driving all the way up to Scotland. OK wont be quite as cheap, but the boarding will be 99% more reliable ie actually having snow you can board on…

Guys, i have taken it all on board and think i will leave the Scotland idea. It’s too risky. TBH, its a stretch to afford anything at the moment and i dont own a bike right now (shock horror!) so the back up would involve sitting in a pub getting smashed all weekend…not too bad but i’d rather not drive 9hrs for it!

I will look at the options on the continent, but again i think its too pricey for me and i would struggle to get a long weekend off work really.

Thanks anyway guys.

Don,t sit in a pub all afternoon FFS. Head west and go Surfing (Bude or somewhere). Easy drive, cheap, surfing is easy to get into but you could get a lesson.

^^ha ha cheers mate but bit past lessons..all of us have surfed for 20yrs and have been lucky enough to surf plenty of spots all around the world.

We just fancy a change from the surf and get some snow.

Your right though dude, there’s some bloody nice places to surf down here. Bude wouldn’t be top of the list though tbh.

ATB,
Jay

Hmmm, this has got me thinking. I have a long weekend next weekend (10-13th Feb) and quite fancy going up to ski/MTB in Scotland from Newcastle.

Where do you think the best place to base ourselves would be if we wanted a fun day out on the slopes and a relatively easy day of MTB (other half is an enthusiastic but somewhat unfit cyclist so doesn’t do epic days on the bike).

Newtonmore would be good, then for skiing you could go to either Cairngorm or Fort william depending on the better weather. It;s only 20 minutes to Laggan Wolftrax if you want a trail centre, or you;re placed for several “wilder” rides too.