Snow sports fans will flock to the Highlands after mid-week snowfall heralded the true start of the season.
With snow and winds mostly abated, roads are clear and pistes groomed and Scotland’s five mountain snowsport resorts, including Glenshee in Perthshire, are operational.
Glenshee is the only one unable to open so far this season, with the other four managing only a handful of days between them.
“The season actually started really early, back in November,” said Heather Negus, chairwoman of Ski-Scotland, “but it has been rather stop-start since then.
“Four of the five ski areas have operated at various times, but the snow has proved to be fickle through December and January.
“This most recent snow dump is finally giving us the chance to offer skiing and snowboarding for all abilities on a wide variety of pistes – there are a total of 143 runs across all five mountain areas, served by 67 lifts.”
Skiers and snowboarders frustrated by the weather so far are reminded to check conditions before leaving and while en route.
Heather added: “Our official website www.ski-scotland.com/conditions is updated by the ski areas themselves throughout the day as and when conditions change. It is easily accessible by mobile and tablet as well as computer and gives the status of lifts, runs and access roads as well as snow conditions and overhead weather.
“Our webcams also give a true picture of what to expect, although of course these cannot show every run at every ski area. We also have a new fun video to encourage people to use our website to find out about conditions. We’re aiming to offer some great skiing and snowboarding into this weekend and beyond.”
