Falling for Cairngorm
Written: Jan 20 '00 (Updated Jul 28 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The best place to ski in Britain, lots of ski runs, not pretentious
Cons: You don't get the high altitude skiing of some places - it can get cold
The Bottom Line: Get away from it all - fantastic scenery.
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| Rob.'s Full Review: Cairngorm |
Ouch, aagghh, oh no, 'watch out' and many other expressions of pleasure come to mind when I recall my attempts at skiing in Cairngorm, the most beautiful snow-capped mountains. Wild and expansive, the place names conjure the image - Aviemore, Glenmore Forest, Loch Morlich, Creag Dubh.
I close my eyes now and I feel the biting cold breeze, I taste the clean and un-polluted air and I see the vast beauty of the surrounding Cairngorm range.
BEST PLACE IN SCOTLAND FOR SKIING:
The best place for skiing in Scotland is Cairngorm. One of very few places in Britain where you feel that you are at a real ski-resort with full facilities and a wide range of ski runs.
BEST TIME TO VISIT:
The best time to go is obviously deep winter, between December and February. However you will want to keep up to date with the local ski reports to work out the best time to visit. I have included some of the best websites at the end of my review.
DURATION AND BEST PLACES TO STAY: AVIEMORE
There is no accommodation at the Cairngorm ski resort - the closest town is Aviemore. I recommend visiting Aviemore for a weekend, spending two days on the mountain. This should be ample time to experience skiing in Scotland, and the nightlife in Aviemore will keep you very interested! You can make this trip part of a longer holiday in Scotland; you might first visit Edinburgh for a few days and then spend the weekend in Aviemore. For information about Edinburgh, please look at my review of Edinburgh!
Two places to in Aviemore, a hotel and the Youth Hostel:
The Cairngorm Hotel located opposite the train station - Grampian Road, Aviemore, PH22 1PE, Scotland.
Phone: 44 (0)1479 810233 E-mail: reception@cairngorm.com
They are friendly and cater to all needs, including families, babies, full laundry facilities. The rooms are pleasant.
Aviemore Youth Hostel. For those concerned about Youth Hostels - please note that in England, Scotland and Wales all the Youth Hostels are very good quality. Everybody who stays at these hostels is a visitor or is a tourist. They are affordable and usually designed for those people who are interested in outdoor activities.
Aviemore Youth Hostel is at the south end of Aviemore on 25 Grampian Road, Aviemore, Inverness-shire, PH22 1PR. Phone: 44 (0)1479 810345
This hostel is set in beautiful woodland. They have over 114 beds available. This is a great base for an outdoor/adventure weekend and great value at less than 15 pounds (less than 22 dollars) per night. You can find details of all Scottish Youth Hostels at the website (see the end of my review).
THE SKI RESORT:
Cairngorm is the place to go for skiing in Scotland, and the snow is kept in great condition by a team using snow preparation and conditioning equipment. There is a 'snowphone' number to check on conditions for the day: 44 (0)1479 861261
GETTING THERE AND GETTING STARTED:
The closest town is Aviemore - from Aviemore it is a short drive to the east, past Loch Morlich through the Glenmore Forest and up towards the large Cairngorm mountain range, a drive of less than 10 miles. There is also a regular bus service from Aviemore to the ski resort.
There is plenty of parking, and we checked in at the Day Lodge above the car park. They have some great services - especially for beginners and I chose the beginners class and a day lift pass. I was lucky - it was early in the day I received one-on-one tuition even though I had not paid for this, and there was no waiting.
CAIRNGORM AND THE SKIING:
On the lower slopes I managed to fall over a lot and generally have a great time. Cairngorm did not seem at all pretentious and I was not embarrassed, in fact being taught to ski was a hilarious event.
The quality of the training MUST have been good - because by the end I was able stand, use the ski poles correctly and propel myself forward!
The lower slopes do get quite full - mainly with budding skiers and incapable snowboarders, however I always seemed to have enough room to test my 'skills'.
The views from the slopes are magnificent - in winter the nearby Cairngorm range looks both majestic and compelling.
Cairngorm itself reaches 1245 meters, or 4084 feet, the maximum altitude for the ski runs is approximately 3600 feet and there is Ptarmigan Snack Bar (shaped like a dome) here.
There are 17 ski-lifts (4 chair lifts and 13 ski-tow / drag lifts) and a total of 30 runs ranging in difficulty - 30% are rated as easy, approximately 40% are graded as intermediate and the remaining 30% are rated as expert.
From what I believe (and I am in now way a good skier) there are some good challenging runs such as:
White Lady and West Wall. I saw these but did not try them for fear of ending my life...
For those very experienced skiers there is a competition style run called M1 Poma, this runs from near the top of the ski area (at about 3600 feet) and drops steeply down the mountain. Needless to say I would not be writing this review if I had set foot upon this slope!
DETAILS OF THE PISTE:
You can see some very detailed maps of the slopes on some of the websites below, the most detailed map is on the Ski Scotland website: http://www.ski.scotland.net/
The chairlifts and ski-tow lifts give great coverage of the slopes and are well maintained.
APRES PISTE:
Now of course you have to congratulate yourself on a successful day on the slopes and I have a couple of recommendations for both nice restaurants and some erm beverages...
The Old Bridge Inn, located on Dalfaber Road, Aviemore PH22 1PU, phone: 44 (0)1479 811137
This is a fine place for Supper and beer. Old and comfortable - you will enjoy recuperating and easing your painful bones at this friendly Pub. Of course you have to try the Highland food...
The Rowan Tree Restaurant & Guest House, Loch Alvie, nr Aviemore, nr Inverness-shire, PH22 1QB, phone: 44 (0)1479 810207. This nice guest house and restaurant is located 12 miles south of Aviemore on the B9152 (a minor road). This is one of the oldest hotels/restaurants in the area. They have a tea room and a full restaurant serving a four course table d’hôte dinner menu. Be aware that there is also an obligatory 'Craft Shop' attached to this establishment.
USEFUL WEBSITES:
Here are some of the best websites that I have found:
Cairngorm Chairlift Company. This is a great site to see some pictures of the area and the ski runs:
http://www.aviemore.org/cairngorm/winter.htm
Ski Scotland - this is my favorite site for information, they offer updated skiing and weather reports, also great for locating suitable accommodations. If you are looking for accommodations, click on the 'highlands' section of the search map:
http://www.ski.scotland.net/
Snowsport Scotland, The National governing body for skiing and snowboarding. This is useful for people thinking of becoming involved in competitions etc:
http://www.snsc.demon.co.uk/
Scotland Resort List, this is useful for checking out all the best resorts in Scotland:
http://www.skiin.com/static/country/static/scot-main.en.html
The Youth Hostels Association of Scotland. The Youth Hostels throughout Britain are superb, great for low budget travel and adventure holidays:
http://www.syha.org.uk/
The Aviemore and Cairngorm Experience. This is a good site to check-out Aviemore, includes some great pictures. Also for those looking to shop:
http://www.aviemore.co.uk/
The UK StreetMap Website is very useful for directions and seeing maps of Cairngorm and any other location in the United Kingdom. To find Cairngorm: You should type Cairngorm in the Search box, click on the 'UK place' buttons and then click on SEARCH:
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/
Aviemore Tourist Office:
You can easily contact the Aviemore Tourist Office at: 44 (0)1479 810363
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Rob.
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Member: Robert Martindale
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 140 members
About Me:
An original member - alive and kicking again...
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