Glenshee Ski Centre has reluctantly had to turn away some walk-in customers due to the lack of snow so far this winter.
December has been relatively wintry in Scotland, with spells of snow even at low levels.
But the Glenshee area has missed out on the major dumps, according to the ski centre’s managing director David Farquharson.
Currently there are only three ski lifts open, meaning a maximum of 350 people can safely use the slopes at any one time.
This compares to the 4,000 limit when all 21 lifts are open.
As a result, the ski centre has been over-capacity during the festive period.
“We are busy on the artificial snow and only have the three lifts going,” David said.
“We have limited numbers. Otherwise we have far too many people turning up and we don’t have enough snow and space for them.
“People who have been unable to get on have had to go home. It’s a matter of safety to limit the numbers.
“The best thing is to book online. We do take walk-ins at the ticket office until the lifts are too busy.”
Less snow than central belt
Snow was notable in Tayside and Fife on December 8 and caused widespread disruption on December 16.
Scotland also experienced a white Christmas, with Edinburgh one of three locations in the country to experience at least one flake of snow on December 25.
But David added: “We have missed a lot of the snow other people have had.
“The central belt has had more snow than we have had here. And further north as well. We have been in between.
“A couple of weeks ago was better because we had seven lifts running. We lost that with the mild spell and are down to the artificial snow now.
“We need a lot of snow to get things going. We need to be shut for a few days due to a big storm.”
New year brings hope
All is not lost though.
Skiing began on December 10, which David considers a bonus, given that the more severe winter weather usually only kicks in from January.
“At this point it is looking the same as last year,” he said.
“Last year we got some snow early on, then it went and we were left with the manmade stuff.
“It’s still very early on. We don’t expect to have actual snow until January.”
The bitter irony is that one of the best winters for snowfall in the past decade was in 2020/21, when Covid restrictions forced the closure of the ski centre for the entire season.
“That would have been a bumper winter for us,” David said.
