Glencoe 29th March 2010

From the slopes. Some fresh at top. Icy underneath and at Mugs Ally.

Cairngorm Sunday 14th March

Second day on the Gorm and if anything the weather had worsened. More white-mare conditions and I had not fully recovered from the beating the M1 Poma had given me the day before. More cruising was had although slightly more subdued. Tried to make it to the Ciste Gully, but visibility and wind so bad that we found ourselves once again on the White Lady. Much the same snow as the day before and much more tired. Had a couple of runs on the East Wall of the Lady, which was soft and the nearest thing to powder. Turning around the odd little tree poking out of the snow. The lifts seemed even more brutal today, with all but a few lifting me off the ground. This was compounded by the fact I didn't have a stomp pad on my new board.
I must say I was glad to see the back of the M1 Poma on the home run back to base, but at least did make the most of the weekend.
No photos as there was nothing to see!

Cairngorm Saturday 13th March

Looking forward to making the most of the vast snow coverage that Cairngorm was boasting. However the high winds and low visibility put paid to that. Most of the lifts in Corrie na Ciste were closed but we did make it down the Ciste Gully / East Wall and made use of the Day Lodge Poma (which I had never seen run before). Most of the day was spent on the M1 and White Lady. Plenty of millage under my board but white out conditions prevented full exploration. Whole are was covered apart from the very top of Ciste which is flat anyway. Did want to try a bit more freestyle jumps etc but super firm conditions and high speed cruising were the order of the day.
The M1 Poma really took its toll. Rutted conditions and a brutal take off meant I was riding on tired legs for much of the day.
A full day was had on the slopes by 8:30 and almost last lift around 4:30 so not bad at all.

Glenshee 4th March 2010

Gareth, Jon and myself took Thursday off work and headed to an icy but sunny Glenshee. Started the day off with a cooked breakfast in Blairgowrie and arrived at Glenshee bathed in warm winter sun. Started off with the Tiger black run, rocks and grass poking through and plenty of moguls. Didn't do a good job of it but probably not the best choice for first run of the day. Should have wondered why no-one else seemed to be attempting it. Over the back on Meall Odhar was great with packed powder and nice gulleys to play in. Huge cornices too, hanging formidably above the corries. A great day in the sun and a continuation of a great season so far. Wide coverage but not a great depth of snow. Heavy traffic areas scrubbed down to ice.

Glencoe, Sunday 28th February 2010

The previous Thursday & Friday saw a huge snow fall making Glencoe the snowiest resort in the world (according to Glencoe). The whole lift system needed dug out overnight and the road cleared of drifting snow. We thought it would be better to wait till the Sunday even though they did manage to open for Saturday.
Once up there it was a bit misty but midway and lowdown it was nice and clear.
Using my new board setup we made short work of Happy Valley, Main Basin and the home run down to carpark.
Etive Glades and Flypaper were closed due to avalanche risk. The previous Friday two skiers were airlifted from Etive Glades after triggering an avalanche there. The week before this had been a powder playground.