GB TTIt is over three years since parkwatch published a letter from Alistair Bell in Canada about HIE’s corporate gaslighting at Cairn Gorm and why people had allowed downhill skiing there to die (see here). There have of course been several campaigns against HIE before, successful in the case of the opposition to extend downhill…
Tag: snowsports
The funicular may have been non-operational and much of the other uplift removed but provision for snowsports at Cairn Gorm this winter was much worse than it should have been given the amount of snow making equipment Highlands and Islands Enterprise had bought for its subsidiary Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Ltd (CMSL). The screenshots in this…
On the evening of 28th February, HIE’s fully owned subsidiary Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL) announced it was moving to a five day week and would not be operating on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. This decision was met with disbelief by snowsports enthusiasts, particularly those who had bought season tickets, but also affected CMSL’s ability…
After my post on Concrete and the Death of a Ski Resort (see here) the following comment was posted which I think deserves a proper reply. Environmental change Significant human intervention began at Cairn Gorm when skiers first arrived and decided it was the best place to build a ski area, a resort that has…
The snowsports season on Cairn Gorm came to an end on Sunday 16 April 2023. It wasn’t the best or worst of seasons, although the available parking capacity was exceeded on a number of occasions, particularly at mid-term in February. During the course of the mid-term holiday in February, CairnGorm Mountain Scotland Ltd found it…
This post is a critical analysis of the latest report into the impact of snowsports commissioned by the Scottish Government which was quietly published in January (see here). The report contains some major flaws/ inaccuracies which need to be addressed and has implications for all of Scotland’s ski centres, including the three in the Cairngorms…
With the funicular re-opened, the natural advantage that Cairngorm Mountain has over Scotland’s other downhill snowsports areas due to its altitude has been very apparent this week. While the other resorts have no snow, the beginner slopes in the Ptarmigan bowl are stlll in good condition. Over 1000ft below, Cairngorm Mountain’s unnatural advantages over other…
Yesterday, Highlands and Islands Enterprise announced (see here), earlier than anticipated, that the funicular would start operating on today (26th January) after the Department of Transport had provided authorisation under the Cableway Installation Regulations 2018 for it to re-open. While this should at last provide a reasonably reliable means of access to the upper lifts…
Following Graham Garfoot’s post yesterday on the funicular court cases (see here), a reader who had taken this photo taken from the Ridge Poma in the morning was inspired to annotate it: “the recent thaw really showed up the shortcomings of the funicular”. Brilliant! More such annotated photos from readers, on any aspect of development…
The lower pistes at Cairn Gorm, together with the Sunkid rope tow and the Carpark T-Bar uptrack have all been rendered unusable after just a couple of days of moderate thawing. The “Cairngorm Mountain Full Business Case” (see here), as prepared by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), has the following under Strategic Context: ‘’Cairn Gorm…
Cairn Gorm, alone amongst the five main outdoor snowsports areas in Scotland doesn’t have any chairlifts. Following on from Graham Garfoot’s post on Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the mismanagement of snow sports at Cairn Gorm (see here), the SE Group report , commissioned at a cost of circa £120k, identified the fact that chairlifts…
In my post about how Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL) have “all the gear, no idea” (see here), I mentioned that as far as I know there is only one person in Scotland with the necessary qualifications to operate a ski resort. I then decided to have a look…
Cairngorm Mountain opened for snowsports on Saturday 17 December 2022 with uplift being provided by the two new magic carpets adjacent to the Daylodge. Ticket sales were rightfully limited to just 150 due the constrained size of the beginner area. This beginner area is served by snow from the Snowfactory which is topped up by…
After Alan Brattey’s expose of how the management at Cairngorm Mountain were failing to take advantage of the cold and snowy conditions (see here), it appears someone kicked ass. The following day, Susan Smith, their Chief Executive and Colin Matthews, their head of operations, appeared on a video (see here) announcing Cairngorm Mountain would open…
What’s going on? In 2018 after the funicular failed and Cairngorm Mountain Ltd ceased trading, Highlands and Island Enterprise (HIE) stepped in and set up Cairngorm Mountain [Scotland] Ltd (CMSL) with a share Capital of £100. In an effort to keep the snowsports business going, HIE quickly purchased a TechnoAlpin SnowFactory and eight TechnoAlpin TR8…
It is more than apparent that HIE will never allow the dysfunctional monstrosity of a funicular, so abhorred by snow sports enthusiasts and environmentalists, to be dismantled, especially after the huge repair bill funded by the Scottish Government, unless something goes so catastrophically wrong that they have no choice. But there is another option, just…
What a fantastic day! Snow, lots of it and in perfect condition, weather fantastic, but the customer service left a lot to be desired, including a train that didn’t start running until after 09.30! In January 2020 I wrote a post outlining a plan for snowsports at Cairn Gorm (see here). Since then some things…
Well, that might describe staff at Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) but certainly not at Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL). So what is the problem at Cairn Gorm? Despite having more money thrown at it than any other ski business in the U.K., e.g. (1) 100% funding for any equipment that they need whereas the…
Following my post in March about Highland and Island Enterprise (HIE)’s proposal to build mountain bike tracks at Cairngorm (see here), parkswatch has not considered the matter further. Meantime the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) considered and approved the application (see here) at the end of May. I did not watch the planning committee meeting and…
Two separate planning applications have been submitted on behalf of Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL) to create new roads and tracks at Cairn Gorm both of which are currently being considered by the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA). The first is for two new hill roads (see here for papers), the second is to develop…
On 25th August Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) announced (see here) that the re-opening of the funicular had been postponed until Autumn of 2022. Their news release was widely copied and pasted by various media outlets with little critical comment (with a few honourable exceptions, e.g (see here)). This post compares HIE’s latest claims about…
In my original post with this title (see here) I referred to “the demolition of other viable uplift”. This led at least one person to assume that Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL) were currently considering the demolition of other tows on the mountain. That was not my intention, I was…
A month ago I obtained the Cairngorm Mountain Business Plan 1st April 2020 – 31st March 2023, along with Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s operational agreement with Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd, their fully owned subsidiary responsible for the plan, through Freedom of Information requests. Both documents are heavily redacted (sorry still too many MB in size…
Highland and Islands Enterprise/Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd are now pushing ahead with repair work to the Funicular and the smoothing ground-work outside the Daylodge has been completed (see here). There are also plans to install two new tube slides, create a new access track, move the snow factory and install car park barriers. Meanwhile, nothing…
Last year Parkswatch posted a number of articles opposing the planning application to smooth and re-grade ground by the Day Lodge at Cairn Gorm to create a new beginner’s ski area (see here– includes links to all posts). Ten months after the Cairngorms National Park Authority approved the planning application from Jim Cornfoot, a member…