Cairngorm

Watching my brother-in-law-to-be, all 19 and a half stone of him, slide gracefully across the piste, I began to wonder if spending my stag weekend skiing in the Cairngorms was such a great idea. Ordinarily, seeing a pal skiing makes me feel warm inside because it generally means I'm skiing too, and I love a bit of snow action I do. This time, however, was different. Surreal almost. My impending newest relative did slide gracefully, being the accomplished skier he is. It's just that he was going diagonally backwards, uphill, looking as bemused as it is possible to look when you're wrapped up like a polar explorer. We'd flown as a ...  Read the complete review

I’ve skied at Cairngorm several times since the early eighties, and still have a soft spot for it. Perhaps this is because it’s where I first donned skies, whatever, I like it in spite of itself. The main problem with Cairngorm is the wildly unpredictable weather. The slopes are very exposed as they loom over a wide valley and are afforded no protection. This means the snow blows away too often, and conditions can easily become unskiable in a very short period of time. Having done a good deal of solo walking in this area I would say it’s worth bearing in mind that this area has claimed many lives. This includes those who died in ...  Read the complete review