Skiing in Scotland, advice needed

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230K

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Hi

My 2 boys are off school from 13th Feb for a week and i was thinking of bringing them skiing in Scotland. Does anyone have experience of this, where to go, where to rent gear, where to stay? etc etc. I would be bringing the Merc which are not good in snow on the summer tyres so would this be a problem??

Boys are ages 10 & 9.

Edit: None of us have skied before.

230K
 
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I'd forget the idea and go skiing on the continent.

The weather is generally bad (wet and windy), the snow below par and there are no mountains, just big hills.

You can be in the Alps in only a 12 hour drive. Personally, I'd fly though as you wont be needing/wanting a car.

I took my 9 year old son skiing for his first time at christmas. He had one 2 hour lesson and then he was off on his own down the mountain. So be prepared to be struggling to keep up with them.
 
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I think Aviemore and Fort William are the two key places to go. I've only really done hiking in the two places, but have once done a 1/2 day snow boarding lesson in Fort William and had a good time.

The routes are quite short, so I guess only really suitable for beginners and intermediates.

The roads to Fort William tend to stay clearer than the ones to Aviemore, but both are well gritted on the whole.

The Scottish mountains are really beautiful, so when not skiing there's plenty of hiking and cycling to do. Whether that would appeal to your boys....only you will know :)

I agree with Spike....that the weather can be very mixed and the snow levels not always very low. At this late stage you can simple call the ski schools for opinions on the snow quality....or look at the web cams.

I'm driving to the Torridon mountains next week too in the CLK. I've bought some AutoSocks as a precaution.
 
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Hi
If you look here you can see the conditions live. http://ski.visitscotland.com/

We tried it last year and had 2 fantastic days on cairngorm. If you stay in aviemore you are within reach of either cairngorm or Lecht. They hire gear on the slopes, but you could rent locally and take it with you. Plenty of nice guest houses in Aviemore. I took the merc up there, I bought a pair of autosocks http://www.roofbox.co.uk/autosock/ easier than chains and no fear of damage, didn't need them though, the roads were clear.

Obviously its far better on the continent but Scotland can be great if you get the weather.

Andy
 
If only that were true, lives are lost in these mountains.

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/latestnews/-Three-die-in-Glencoe.4911026.jp

Russ

OK, lets look at Glencoe as an example. The highest lift in Glencoe has an altitude of only 1100 Metres.

Compare that to say Val Thorens in France where the resort itself resides at 1850 Metres and the highest lift is at over 3200 Metres.

Zermatt's highest lift reaches the giddy heights of 3900 Metres. :eek:

Glencoe is utterly dwarfed by comparison.
 
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OK, lets look at Glencoe as an example. The highest lift in Glencoe has an altitude of only 1100 Metres.

Compare that to say Val Thorens in France where the resort itself resides at 1850 Metres and the highest lift is at over 3200 Metres.

Zermatt's highest lift reaches the giddy heights of 3900 Metres. :eek:

Glencoe is utterly dwarfed by comparison.



I'm not disputing any of that, but to call it a big hill is a bit of a glib response.

Russ
 
Hi

Thanks for the advice guys, wifey is trying availability for next weekend. I know it would be better in the Alps but Scotland just seems so much easier travelling from Belfast. Just want to have a go type of thing and then if kids like it we could go next year to the Alps and bring the rest of the kids incl mum.

Any more advice keep it coming:D

230K
 
How is Glenshee faring. I've only gone skiing a couple of times and both were @ Glenshee and it would be fine for 2 boys, which I assume are just starting out with this sport. The runs are fairly gentle and easy on beginners (like me).

The road is not the best from Blairgowrie onwards, but once your up in Glenshee there is good driving down to Braemar and its a nice part of the word, but not the final word in scenary like Glencoe.
 
Hi

Would you just arrive and rent the gear or take a package?? Package is ~£700 for me and the 2 boys 3 nights B&B and dinner and rental of gear for 2 days. More expensive than i thought:eek:

230k
 
Does that include lessons for the full 2 days as well? If it does, then it's a fair price I'd say. Skiing is sadly an expensive hobby. Try renting some bikes if you want to cut the cost a little.

Here's a current offer at Nevis Range.
 
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Hi
I would rent all your gear before you go, this will probably be cheaper. Book the accomodation & speak to the ski school in advance. It won't be cheap, skiing never is. Remember, the weather and conditions may not be brilliant, but whatever you do, don't let this put you off skiing on the continent. That is a totaly different experience.

Have fun.

Andy
 
Agree; try Scotland first, those hills are still bloody big hills, and rent your gear. If you like it, then move on to mainland Europe next time, it's a different level, as it were.

If you don't like it, then tour Scotland and regardless you're not far from home :)
 
i have done the five ski sites in scotland & for a first trip i would say aviemore as it has loads of b&bs hotels or chalets this is a good cheap place to stay http://www.highrange.co.uk/chalets.htm just at the start of the road to the cairngorms the best of the ski sites
 
Afraid that, in all truth, skiing in Scotland can be a pretty marginal affair.

The snow arrives because the main ski areas are located on a sub-arctic plateau, not altitude. Net result is that skiing in Scotland can easily be an utterly miserable experience. Easy to tell the Scotish skiers when in the Alps because they are always the last off the slopes when the weather turns bad!

The facilities have improved but even the best are not that great some are both cr@p and very expensive.

http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/resorts/countrymap.asp?intCountryGroupID=16

If it is on your doorstep, fine. If not go somewhere Alpine.
 
Afraid that, in all truth, skiing in Scotland can be a pretty marginal affair.

The snow arrives because the main ski areas are located on a sub-arctic plateau, not altitude. Net result is that skiing in Scotland can easily be an utterly miserable experience. Easy to tell the Scotish skiers when in the Alps because they are always the last off the slopes when the weather turns bad!

The facilities have improved but even the best are not that great some are both cr@p and very expensive.

http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/resorts/countrymap.asp?intCountryGroupID=16
well skiing in scotland for 30years & it's been at times a challenge but over the years i have had loads of fun with my mates & with my family & would say try it you might like it.scotland skiing for men;)
 
Afraid that, in all truth, skiing in Scotland can be a pretty marginal affair.

The snow arrives because the main ski areas are located on a sub-arctic plateau, not altitude. Net result is that skiing in Scotland can easily be an utterly miserable experience. Easy to tell the Scotish skiers when in the Alps because they are always the last off the slopes when the weather turns bad!

The facilities have improved but even the best are not that great some are both cr@p and very expensive.

http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/resorts/countrymap.asp?intCountryGroupID=16
well skiing in scotland for 30years & it's been at times a challenge but over the years i have had loads of fun with my mates & with my family & would say try it you might like it.scotland skiing for men;)

I have also been skiing for 30 years and can tell you without a shadow of doubt that the skiing I have done in Scotland has provided me some of the least enjoyable experiences.

Not least of these consists of being told something like:

"Aye, but you should have been here last week. We had decent snow then and the sun shone twice!"

Far too unpredictable for a family holiday.

Sorry, but it really is third rate.
 
I'm with Satch on this one.

I ski every year ... multiple times a year if possible. I've also skied all over the world and there's nowhere else I've been to that'll most likely put you off the sport for life than Scotland.
 
Looks like the conditions are improving.......BBC report
 

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