DAY 8 OF THE SCOTTISH SEASON 16/17

I had driven back from Fort William following a large truck all the way the through Glencoe itself and shortly before reaching the resort witnessed the aftermath of a collision with the afore-mentioned truck and one of the resident red deer population. From behind the truck I didn’t have much time to avoid the carnage and long story short, the next morning the mudguards and wheel hubs had venison jerky stuck to them.

Having spent the chilly night in the car, I woke to an orange sun in the south-east and sparkling summits with blue sky backdrops.

It was going to be a cracking day. I grabbed some breakfast and took the access chair before 9:30.

The snow had held up. The uptrack for the access Poma was solid. While traveling up the plateau I could see the piste bashers sitting up near Happy Valley, preparing the slopes for the day’s visitors.

Happy Valley it would be. The guys had linked the upper and lower parts of the run by piling in snow from somewhere. The groomed piste, although narrow at points was the best of the day. It was good to crank up some turns finally.

The sun stayed out and the sky was blue. Temperatures felt warm, but the snow was holding out, which is just as well as the weekend looks like being a busy one. The top t-bar up track was softening later in the day and was narrow among the rocks near the top, but ski patrol were busy shovelling snow to try to improve the experience.

I stopped for lunch just before 12 and had the latest cafe delicacy of a chicken tikka pie, it was awesome! 10 out of 10 lunch.

After lunch, I mixed up Happy Valley with a couple of choppy runs down Main Basin and Ski Tow Gully. As long as yo keep your wits about you and look out for rocks, the sport is pretty good…the best of the season in fact. Not saying much, I know, for what has been a poor winter.

I ended the day with Spring Run. The walk along the summit path distracting me for a while with the amazing views over Rannoch Moor and the Black Mount. At the top of the Springy you have to walk over some icy rocky stretches, but once on the snow it was pretty good. More than can be said for Mugs Alley and the route to the Plateau return.

The guys are working hard to get things in shape for the weekend, filling in muddy patches and covering rocks where they can. They did a great job with Happy Valley, so I hope the weekend is good to them. And, if I do get up Saturday and Sunday, then maybe I can claim that this year’s season pass has been worth it after all.