CAIRNGORM looks set to start its ski season on Thursday, with staff at the beleaguered resort ready to welcome snowsports enthusiasts.
Though the weather gods have not yet brought enough of the white stuff to the mountain, the £1 million TechnoAlpin “snow factory” purchased by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has now generated enough for the local ski school to open at 9.45am this morning.
Glencoe and The Lecht, who also have the snow-making machines, have been open since December 1.
on Wednesday, the Cairngorm Operations Updates Facebook page, run by people who work at the resort, said: “We have pushed the snow factory snow out, to create a fairly decent beginner area, with a 60m rope tow.
“We will open this area tomorrow for classes under ski school instruction at 9.45am.
“The snow-factory is also back in full production and will hopefully keep adding to the size of the beginner area over the coming days.”
The announcement is a rare bit of good news for businesses after a difficult year.
HIE was forced to take back the management of the resort on the northern slopes of Cairngorm at the end of November.
Though they own the site, they had handed it over in a 25-year-lease to Cairngorm Mountain Limited (CML), a company set up by international holiday business, Natural Retreats.
But at the end of last month, and after just three years, CML, who employed around 70 staff, went into administration.
The business had faced a number of difficulties, including structural problems associated with the publicly funded Cairngorm funicular railway.
Administrators said that the collapse of the business was a result of “unsustainable cash flow problems”.
The funicular carries approximately 300,000 skiers, snowboarders and other visitors to the top of the mountain every year, but it has been shut since October.
Engineers probing the railway’s faults were due to have shared their findings in early December but the probe has been hampered by bad weather and will now not be ready until next year.
HIE recently confirmed that they were scrapping compulsory car parking charges, and slashing ticket prices by a quarter.
Meanwhile, new figures suggest Scottish snow sports boost the economy by around £31m.
There were 247,139 skier days recorded in 2017/18.
While down on the peak of 631,000 skier days recorded in 1991 it is up on the 10-year average to 2010.
Highlands MSP Kate Forbes said: “Just a few years ago, there was a bit of a doom and gloom outlook for Scottish skiing.
“But, through a determined effort, we’ve managed to reverse that trend and boost the numbers enjoying the slopes.
“And the economic impact of that has been significant – with a £31m boost to our economy from snow sports last year, which is about £6m more than was projected.
“While Cairngorm Mountain in my constituency is facing challenges, everyone is working to keep it open for business – it’s so important for the Highland economy to see snow sports continue there for many more winters to come.
“Alongside many other skiers and boarders, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for great conditions at Scotland’s ski centres this winter – a superb family day out, giving a huge boost to the rural economy.”
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