Update From Pete: All trails are complete. There was 5-10cm of fresh overnight snow on a compacted base. The main trails have been groomed double width to allow skating as well as two classic tracks.

It was -1degC when I left forest & I dont think it got above freezing all day.

Alan says: Pete’s done a storming job getting around all those trails and conditions don’t get much better than this! Thanks to Peter and anybody else who helped with they pisteing today. Also a big thank you to Colin Miller for his trail clearing.

First surprise today was the car park — a sheet of ice giving no traction on tyres or on foot. Second surprise (more enjoyable) is that there has been no significant loss of snow at the Clash, except Cabrach Corner which looked patchy due to exposure to sun, wind and any rain. However, groomed trails have turned into neve and are disconcertingly fast. Trails under larches have been strewn with twigs, many of which I removed; while under the spruces there are millions of needles, giving something of braking effect. They will add a distinctive layer to the snowpack if it gets deeper. I spent most of this morning on the softer, sugary snow on the verges. A couple who had driven over from Boat of Garten sensibly decided that Sheepfolds was the better option than the groomed trails. There were also 2 other skiers out this morning. Surprisingly the car park was not too windy, but up at the Orange mast it was storm force. Here at Inverurie there have been dangerously violent crosswinds and gusts on the A96, on the exposed stretch at the north end of the bypass. Here is my report on Winterhighland:

“Groomed trails are now as hard as neve, and very fast, although for rather more comfortable skiing it’s usually possible to find softer, sugary snow on the verges. This means that ungroomed trails such as Sheepfolds should be more pleasant than the main trails. Compacted snow depths are 15-20cm, with 20-25cm on the uncompacted verges. The car park is currently a skid pan”.

Thanks to Colin Miller for report.

Yesterday and today’s snow has reached the Clash, falling on the thin base left from last week. Conditions are now excellent and some pisteing has been done around the range. More details will be posted as we receive them