Glencoe Mountain Resort is Loaded

I’m not kidding, no matter where in the world I go to snowboard, I pine for the Coe. Pouring over the webcams and photos of the day at Glencoe, even when premium world class snow is falling where I am at the time.

I’ve been abroad on holiday (blog to follow) and after a few days back at work, I sacked it off on Friday to make the most of the huge amount of snow that has fallen, and before the rains of the weekend would arrive.

I missed the start of the week which had looked incredible, with deep powder snow and clear skies. Friday didn’t look too bad and there was a chance of clear spells.

I don’t know why I was surprised to find the carpark pretty full on arrival. Maybe my last visit on the 13th of February still seemed relatively quiet, but I was happy to see so many people making the most of this Friday and choosing the Mighty Coe as it did look like the West had it best.

Conditions on the hill

I’d been watching the pictures coming in all week, and still wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d spent the previous week in fine powder and perfect corduroy, so it did take me a second to adapt to the firm uptrack on the Plateau Poma. What I did appreciate was how much snow had accumulated since my last visit. Many of the fence posts were now covered and the hill looked fine in full coverage of snow.

Straight to the Wall T-bar and up to Main Basin. The cool temperatures had kept the snow in good nick. My first turns down main basin were through the mist that hugged the summit. There was little to worry about however as the smooth consistent surface of main basin provided the perfect canvas to make turns. The corrie was so full of snow there were no unpredictable lumps and bumps to catch you out. The Haggis Trap had completely disappeared and returning down behind the rescue hut the snow was at roof level.

I didn’t try Etive Glades, but Happy Valley was also good for cranking up turns. IN times like these, the runs become less relevant as you can pretty much go wherever you wish across the mountain. Even Rannoch Glades had good cover and its usually scoured.

I took a run down under the Cliffy which was fun. From the Canyon all the way across to Thrombosis that face can be ridden as it has full coverage, again, this is pretty rare, and great to see.

Flypaper was closed due to a layer of grauple making it unstable, but the Spring Run offered my favourite on-piste conditions of the day. Running down the left hand side especially there were heavy deposits of windblown powder.

Returning via Mugs Alley to the Wall T-bar was fast in the hero snow. No ice to speak of either, in fact the whole mid-mountain looks like a beginners paradise. Full cover you can ski anywhere.

Visibility was a bit of an issue at times, but at least it wasn’t persistent as it often can be. The top of the mountain was afflicted with white outs now and then, but occasionally would clear to reveal everything below.

Final Run

I finished the day on Spring Run, my favourite of the day by far. This time though, I cut across towards the bottom of the Flypaper (Springpaper, not sure?), the run out here providing fresh turns and spitting you out across the Plateau all the way back to the access lift. 

There were plenty of options to ride back to the carpark. Unless I’m getting some pow or some groomer turns, I’m taking the lift down though.

Outlook

I had packed the car with the possibility of staying for Saturday, but it looked like rain and wind would be setting in and I’m still dealing with a bit of jetlag, so Saturday would be a recovery day back at home. Sunday however looks like there may be a touch more snow with a chance of winds dropping enough, so stay tuned for that.

Looks like we have enough to see us in to Spring now, but more snow is always welcome!