With snow still falling regularly and conditions on most runs better than they have been for many years, CairnGorm continues to offer good skiing on spring snow and is confident of being able to do so throughout the Easter holidays. Already gearing itself up for an expected influx of holiday visitors, most of whom are more likely to see Snow Bunnies than Easter Chicks, conditions across the mountain have given a much-needed end-of-season boost to Scotland’s struggling skiing industry, with the real possibility that, despite only having had any meaningful snow since the beginning of March, winter visitor targets for this season could still be met.
Said Tania Alliod, CairnGorm’s Marketing Manager:
“ While conditions throughout March were excellent - and are still better than one might have expected with the recent temperature rises - no one should forget that we missed out totally on potential business over Christmas and New Year, and during the entire February half-term holidays. Our skiing visitor target for this season was for 55,000 ski days for this season and, while at present we have achieved an astonishing 44,000 ski days and attracted around close to 9,500 winter sports enthusiasts over the past five weeks, we are still short of what was already a seriously revised target.”
“To achieve our target, we need the present conditions to continue until after Easter and there is now a strong possibility that this might actually happen. What is encouraging for our visitors is that not only are snow conditions much better here than in previous years but also our uplift system is now coping well, particularly during weekdays when visitor demand is steady and more easily manageable. In general, we have had much shorter lift queues at the foot of the various pistes than many remember and this has resulted in improved customer satisfaction overall.”
“For example, earlier this week, because of the volume of snow on the hill and the number of lifts open, visitors, amounting to several hundreds in total, were able to ski from the top to the bottom, jump back on the funicular and be back at the top some five minutes later. Even in the Ptarmigan Bowl, one of the very popular areas for beginners, queuing times were minimal with most skiers simply getting to the bottom and simply stepping onto the tow without any delay. That has to be good news and certainly provides a good day’s sport. ”
“At the same time, we recognise that coping with a massive sudden influx first thing in the morning, particularly at weekends, has been a real test for our teams, particularly for our ticket office team, who were processing ticket sales at a remarkable rate of 1.7 customers per minute - including time taken to process a massive number of credit cards. We have tried to make improvements in that area to reduce waiting time by extending opening hours at the ticket offices within the Base station and in Aviemore and from the level of satisfaction being expressed by our customers, we have managed to reduce waiting times all round.”
At present, it is still possible to ski from the top of The Ptarmigan Bowl to the Base Station Car Park, albeit that some of the lower runs are on the narrow side. Conditions are particularly good for beginners in the Ciste Fairway and the Ptarmigan Bowl, both of which have the advantage of being directly accessed from the funicular, while the Car Park Zone, another favourite for beginners, remains ski-able even if the cover is thin and the pistes are narrow in parts. More experienced skiers and snowboarders are able to enjoy a plethora of pistes, with both The White Lady and the M1 offering good conditions, if icy in patches, while quality skiing is widely available on the Ciste, on Fiacaill and throughout the entire Cas area.
Said Tania Alliod: “This season, as far as Scottish skiing is concerned, it’s been very much a case of grabbing good snow while you can and that remains true for our Easter Holiday visitors, many of whom will have had few recent opportunities to ski in Scotland at this time of the year. Forecasting conditions for even a few days in advance at this time of the year is very difficult and anyone thinking of coming to ski at CairnGorm should check our website - www.cairngormmountain.org - before setting out. The website provides the most up-to-date information on access, pistes, conditions and weather than anywhere else, and the information is updated on a regular basis to reflect changing conditions throughout the day.”
With more snow forecast for later this week in The Cairngorms and temperatures looking to remain cold at higher altitudes, skiing conditions are expected to remain favourable over this coming weekend but at CairnGorm, as at every other Scottish winter sports area, skiing at present is very much the sport of opportunism.
Said Tania Alliod: “When conditions are right, with good fresh snow, blue skies and sunshine, skiing in Scotland is as good as anywhere else and we are hopeful that we can offer this combination at CairnGorm Mountain over Easter. You may not be able to roll your Easter Eggs in the snow but there’s no fun quite like snow-fun and, because conditions are always unpredictable, visitors should grab the chance of some fun while they can.”
Ends
Further information from:
Bill Nolan
Tel: 07885 071804
or
Fiona Milligan
Tel: 01478 861326
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