#glencoemountainresort

[ruanaich]

Nice day for a white shredding

Sunday 20th March 2022 - Glencoe Mountain Resort

I had a previous commitment to attend my friends wedding on Saturday. Turns out it was perfect weather to get married as well as head for the hills. I had a great night, but this did mean a slow start to Sunday, so it was just an afternoon for me. The hill was pretty well frozen in the morning, so my late arrival would have the added benefit of having slightly, only slightly softer snow.

Main Basin was once again the place to be, but despite the blazing sunshine and no fresh snow for a while, the top and bottom of the hill are all still connected. Mugs Alley gave some fast spring snow access to the Wall T-bar or the Cliffhanger chair when the inevitable leg burn started to be felt.

Although its getting narrower, the Plateau run still gives plenty of access up and down or was a good option for an extended top to bottom run.

I didn’t head over to Spring Run or Flypaper. The tops of both this runs had glistening ice capping them, so I didn’t waste my time hiking across the summit.

As I made my way down at the end of the day I could see the groomer

Working on what I suspect will be the freestyle park area for next weeks The Mighty Coe Festival

There’s loads going on at the Festival next weekend. Check out the website at http://www.themightycoe.com

[imnotwhole]

Friday night at the Drive-in with Nick to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Such a nice night. #itison #itisondriveinmovies #driveinmovie #glencoe #glencoemountainresort #harrypotter #prisonerofazkaban (at Glencoe Mountain Resort)

[ramzoozi]

Photo by @ritamckennaphotography Use #unlimitedscotland to feature ・・・ Monarch of Glen Etive #glenetive #glencoe #glencoemountain #glencoemountainresort #scottishheritage #scottishwildlife #wildlifephotography #wildlife #reddeer #stag #8pointer #visualsofscotland #visitscotland #natgeowild #majestic #beautiful #bbccountryfile #bbcbritian #igersglencoe #igscotland #ig_scotland #nikonphotography #photographyislife #ukpotd #roadtrip #scottishhighlands #hiddenscotland #seeingscotland (at Glen Etive)

[airbuniek]

#glencoe#glencoemountainresort #snowboarding #skiing #djimavic #holiday#weekend#beautifull#roadtrip#instapic #instagram #iphonesia #yolo (at Glencoe Mountain Resort)

[activefamily]

Loch Awe Holiday Park - Feb 2018

We have just returned from our second Argyll Holiday and what a great time we’ve had!

This time we were staying in a 3 bedroom premier caravan at Loch Awe Holiday Park, which was lovely, with plenty space, lots of storage and was nice and cosy - everything you would need.  We arrived on the Friday after enjoying the scenery all the way to the park.

On the Saturday we headed to the Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary near Oban, where we had a great time watching the otter being fed, the four seals being fed and learned all about them, we saw lots of different fish and turtles.  Jamie loved all the interactive activities and the scenery all around was pretty spectacular.

#ScottishSeaLifeSanctuary

We headed into Oban for a bit of lunch afterwards and found a pretty spectacular play park next to the Leisure Centre where Jamie was in absolute heaven.  Although cold, it was a stunning sunny day, which made the scenery look really beautiful.

Sunday was a very relaxed, chilled family day that we all enjoyed very much.  First we had a walk around Loch Awe holiday park, Jamie had a great time in the play park, we played table tennis and pool in the Games room, and we were totally surprised to see some deer and a stag just casually walking around the park - really lovely and amazing to see!

Next we walked along the river path for an outstanding Sunday lunch at the fabulous nearby Brander Lodge.  What a beautiful place! The food, the service, the menu, the quality of the food, the scenery were all absolutely spot on.  Well worth a visit.

#BranderLodge

On Monday morning we packed up early and headed off for our day at Glencoe Mountain Resort.  Wow, wow, wow!!! What an absolutely amazing day!!  A fantastic experience that I for one, absolutely loved!!

We were kitted out with all the equipment we needed, were given our passes and met our ski instructor, Alan, who was absolutely brilliant!  I was particularly impressed with the very cute star wars skis given to Jamie - uber cute!

The 20 minute chairlift up to the slopes was an experience in itself!  Again the scenery was utterly spectacular.  It was a perfect day to be there.

We had a two hour private ski lesson with the fantastic Alan, who was so patient and helpful with the four of us who had never skied at all before.  He soon had us all able to start and stop and turn and it was time to head up to higher slopes using the tow.

Jamie and I picked it up a bit better than Steven and Demi, so we headed up further, where I was skiing faster on my own and Jamie went almost to the top to ski down with Alan.  Amazing!!

Once our lesson was over, we went to the cafe up on the slopes for some hot drinks before spending some fun time sledging, before getting our skis back on to make our descent - back down in the chair lift, for a nice well deserved late lunch at the bottom of the mountain.

This is a day I will always remember and Jamie and I can’t wait to give skiing another go!

#GlencoeMountainResort

[motiongraphics]

Single chairlift #selfie 📷 up on #glencoemountainresort Great fun. #snowboarding 🏂

[ruanaich]

Friday Freshies

Friday 18th March 2022 - Glencoe Mountain Resort

A bright day was on the cards and reports told of a night of snowfall on the upper mountain at Glencoe.

Other than a slight delay with a roadworks convoy just before Rannoch Moor, the journey up was straight forward.

I arrived just after 9am and got straight onto the access lift.

The upper mountain came into view as the chair neared the plateau and it looked fantastic in the sunshine.

The Cliffy wasn’t running, so it was straight to the Wall T-bar, then to the Summit.

Main Basin had really nice wind packed snow, excellent for large radius sweeping turns. I got myself over to Spring Run too and other than a slightly form top portion, the lower section had the same wind packed softer snow, although it was a bit choppy by this point. Taking Mugs Alley back to the Wall T-bar, all runs on upper mountain are still connected.

Happy Vally was fun, but I did make the mistake of exploring Etive Glades, just in case the southerly wind had deputed anything in there. I was sadly mistaken and it was pure ice and felt like a cheese grater as I forced my turns before getting back onto the bottom of Happy Valley.

Ski Tow Gulley, usually a fun go-to for me was iced up, so I avoided this until it was time to leave, and I crossed here to get back down to the Plateau run.

The wind did die down through the day and the sunshine prevailed till the lifts stopped spinning. But the biggest surprise of the day was the lack of people. There were very few on the slopes which was a surprise to me as the snow and good weather was well publicised the day before. I can’t complain as this meant small lift lines.

Hopefully this won’t be the case next weekend when TheMightyCoe Festival takes place.

There will be a festival village with food and entertainment plus line-up of big ski and snowsport brands exhibiting alongside a wide range of on-snow and social activity. It’s not to be missed, but you’ll need a ticket!

If you haven’t already, get your tickets here: https://themightycoe.com/tickets/

[ruanaich]

Beyond Expectations

Saturday 12th March 2022 - Glencoe Mountain Resort

I left the house in torrential rain. Passed Loch Lomond in a Monsoon. I wasn’t holding out much hope for the promised spells of sunshine or for the brooding clouds to lift anytime soon. When I picked up a bacon roll at the Green Welly Stop the air felt too warm for any snow, even at altitude.

My journey up the access lift was equally damp and it was only as I reached the top lifts via the Wall T-bar that the sky above appeared a touch brighter with less of the wet stuff falling on me.

There had been some snowfall earlier and the ice from last week had given way to spring like snow. Turns down main basin felt good. Just before I cut into ski tow gully, I felt a little stickiness in the snow, but that let up as I pointed down the fall line.

Lots of laps followed and the clouds did start to let some brightness through. This was the time to try Spring Run. It was firm but not icy, but did have little bergschrunds, cracks where the snow pack is peeling away from the slope. I cutt left to try and get back to the rescue hut, but realised I was already too low and as I popped out below Rannoch Glades I had to cross more of these cracks before coming out onto Mugs Alley where I made for the Wall T-bar. It was fun here too, with slush spring snow.

As the afternoon went on, snow started to fall, even down to the Plateau.

With the brisk winds up top there was even some redistribution and transportation of snow giving nice we pockets of fresh to turn in.

Dare I say, this was becoming one of the funnest days of my season. Much more than I could have hoped for after my rainy journey earlier.

I finished my day with another Spring Run then into Spring Paper, before a fast runout onto Rankin’s.

What a day!

I usually post these entries to my blog at www.Ruanaich.com along with photos, but I’m still having technical issue. I’ll post here until I get it fixed.

[ruanaich]

Sunny Sunday

Sunday 6th March 2022 - Glencoe Mountain Resort (Day 11)

If I’m honest, Sunday was pretty much a repeat of the day before, although it nearly didn’t happen for me.

I hadn’t planned to come up on Sunday as I had expected to have a big night beforehand. I awoke on Sunday much more bright eyed than expected and after some procrastinating while the sun streamed in the windows, I threw my gear in the car and left Glasgow around 10am in time to get to Glencoe for an afternoon.

I had hoped the ice would have softened up, but it remained stubbornly solid, except for heavily trafficked areas that had gathered accumulations of granular snow in piles, dare I say porto-moguls.

Whenever I asked if anyone had ventured to the Springy, it tended to be answered with a grunt and the resignation of staying this side of the mountain. Never mind, it’ll be great once it does finally soften up.

Despite only making it up for an afternoon, it made up for being unable to make it on Friday and it was still great fun.

[ruanaich]

Sunny Saturday

Saturday 5th March 2022 - Glencoe Mountain Resort (Day 10)

I had driven up on Friday evening, I had hoped to get up for an afternoon, but it wasn’t to be. I was ready to get up the hill pre 9 on Saturday morning. I was in the first bunch of folk up the access lift and keen to get up top. I was planning on leaving early to get back up to Glasgow for a function.

The sky was blue and the going was firm. It was a bit blowy and I assume thats why the Cliffy wasn’t running yet. So once up the Wall and the Summit tows, Main Basin lay before us, groomed down the middle. This allowed for a smoother alternative to the remainder of the hill, which was icy, and could shake your fillings out every turn.

Lower down, below the Wall, it softened up a touch. But to be honest since the Spring Run and Flypaper were iced up, I was perfectly happy Lapping Main Basin with the odd run down Mugs Alley.

It was great seeing a lot of old and new faces, with plenty of chat on the T-bars, one of the best parts of being a regular at Glencoe in my opinion.

Without stopping for lunch, I rode through to around 2:30. A fine day indeed, with sun lasting all day and the snow was so cold that at least it wasn’t disappearing.

I usually post these entries to my blog at www.Ruanaich.com along with photos, but I’m still having technical issue. I’ll post here until I get it fixed.

[ruanaich]

Head in the Clouds

Sunday 27th February 2022 - Glencoe Mountain Resort (Day 9)

The day looked promising and the hill had good cover. The snow was firm however and the summit had a stubborn cloud hanging around that meant early on you had to use your senses.

Just before the lower part of Main Basin visibility improved. This meant there were great lines down the Wall where the snow became spring-like.

Spring Run remained stubbornly firm so I went back to the other side of the mountain. The Cliffhanger wasn’t running today so it was up the Wall and the Summit T-bar. Queues got a bit lengthy at the peak of the day a there was a good number of skiers and snowboarders on the hill making the most of the end of Half-Term. This lessened towards the end of the day which coincided with the mist lifting from the mountain.

I usually post these entries to my blog at www.Ruanaich.com along with photos, but I’m still having technical issue. I’ll post here until I get it fixed.

[ruanaich]

Power = Powder

Friday 25th February 2022 - Glencoe Mountain Resort

During the week a lightning bolt touched down during a thunder snow event at Glencoe. This knocked out the electricity supply to the upper mountain. As the snow loaded up, the downside was that Glencoe faced a fair weather day on Friday with the possibility of no uplift on a sold out day.

The Coe Crew weren’t about to let that happen and a stoic performance through the night and following day saw them hook up the important lifts to temporary generators. Come Friday morning, the sun came out with the Access Chair, Plateau Poma, the Wall t-bar all running.

Aware of the situation, I brought my Splitboard. I could at least skin up if the power supply was lost.

The hill looked glorious with full cover in the morning’s sparkling light. I was keen to get up the top and make turns in all that fresh snow.

I was torn however. Do I jump on the Wall T-bar and grab early lines on the Wall, or do I skin up to the top for a longer decent? I chose the latter. Skinning up Happy Valley I was making decent time until the track steepened to the point where my skins were losing traction. I decided to try my ski-crampons. Probably the wrong time to try them as they are tricky to fit when you’re gripping with your edges to prevent sliding downhill. Always fit crampons before you need them!

Reaching the top and looking down into Happy Valley I once again had to decide on dropping into an untouched slope, or delay gratification and carry on across the summit to Spring Run. I thought while I have skins and crampons on, I’d continue east on the very icy track.

The top of Spring Run and Flypaper was extremely iced up as were many westerly aspects. I transitioned to board mode and dropped into Spring Run. A few patches of ice and sastrugi then I was into wind packed snow. I cut back onto Mugs Alley before a short hike back up to the rescue hut. I stopped for a bit to eat, considering doing the Wall, but decided to put the skins on again for anther trip to the top. As I was doing this, there was a clink and a hum coming from a lift. I turned to see some excitement at the bottom of the Rannoch Button. There was a buzz amongst the few people hanging around and it became apparent the Crew had worked their magic here too and we soon had uplift to the summit. I packed my skins away and dumped my bag at the rescue hut. Despite being off-camber and iced up, I was happy to see the lift running, providing top to bottom lift service against all odds. It was lift served laps for the rest of the day.

The snow stayed in great shape through the day, clouds slowly moved in and the blue skies changed to falling snow in the afternoon. The lifts understandably had to run with a reduced capacity, but this in turn meant the slopes were not busy.

I usually post these entries to my blog at www.Ruanaich.com along with photos, but I’m still having technical issue. I’ll post here until I get it fixed.

[ruanaich]

3 of 4

Monday 21st February 2022 - Glencoe Mountain Resort

Sunday had been a washout and we left Glencoe with water pouring off the mountain. Temperatures dropped throughout the night and I drove up again the following morning. A bit of a late start, but I was on the hill by 11.

3 days out of 4 for my long weekend. Glencoe Mountain Resort delivered yet again. Even Main Basin was loaded with fresh before it froze up. Bring on more snow during the week.

[ruanaich]

Super Saturday

Saturday 19th February 2022 - Glencoe Mountain Resort

I’m a bit late to the party as I’me sure you already know, Saturday was epic, with fresh snow and bluebird conditions.

Friends were visiting and we had a micro lodge booked for the weekend. I had a slow start despite stating the night. Friends were collecting lift passes and hiring gear. What do they say about no friends on a powder day?

Anyway we did get up there and what a sight it was. Full cover and cobalt blue skies. Every lift was running. SO after a futile attempt to teach someone how to ride the Poma, it was off to the Cliffy and with friends settled in on Mugs Alley, I snuck off to get some of the goods higher up.

Spring run was full of churned up piles of powder, still lovely and soft and the drop was good down the red run. Run of the day was Etive Glades though. The entrance didn’t look promising with the groomer track churning up a few rocks (of which Etive Glades has many!). Once off the track, there was well packed powder leading all the way down to the top of the Wall. This provided the best turns of the day by far. Best of all, there was barely a soul to be seen here.

I swapped my time between the top of the mountain and lower down to check in on friends. Mugs Alley just needs a slight top up to fill some holes, but all in all cover was great across the resort. Even the home run was pretty much complete.

Lift lines were not a problem, despite the busy car park (Which could have been fuller with better parking). Visitor numbers were also restricted.

This was a day, we are all in need of. Let’s hope for a few more. We have further snowfall on the way.

I usually post these entries to my blog at www.Ruanaich.com along with photos, but I’m still having technical issue. I’ll post here until I get it fixed.

[airbuniek]

#glencoe#glencoemountainresort #snowboarding #skiing #djimavic #holiday#weekend#beautifull#roadtrip#instapic #instagram #iphonesia #yolo (at Glen Etive)