Friends tackle all seven of Capital's peaks in one day

THE snow may have been a headache for many city residents but for one group of ski-mad friends, it provided a unique opportunity.

The group managed to complete the challenge of skiing down all Edinburgh's seven hills in one day for the first time, starting at 9am on Sunday and finishing - in the dark - just after 5pm.

They started out at Edinburgh Castle esplanade then worked their way down Calton Hill, Arthur's Seat, Blackford Hill, Braid Hill, Craiglockhart Hill and ended on Corstorphine Hill, where they had "a wee dram of whisky" to celebrate their achievement.

The group took their inspiration from the Seven Hills of Edinburgh race, though they changed the order as the running event, which takes place in summer when it is lighter, ends on Arthur's Seat.

Members of the Edinburgh Ski Touring Club Sarah Montgomery, Clare Campbell and James Dalgarno tackled all seven hills and were joined by fellow club members Mark Saunders, who did the last four hills, and Mary Watson, who did Blackford Hill and Braid Hill.

As well as the hills, the group's day of skiing also included traversing two golf courses and a tennis court.

Committee member Ms Montgomery, 46, from Murrayfield, said: "Some of us were skiing on the Braids and we were talking about the Seven Hills of Edinburgh running race and we thought it would be fun to ski them.

"We liked Blackford Hill the best because it's such a fabulous vantage point. You can see the Castle and the coast behind it, which looks spectacular.

"With the snow you get very clear light so everything seems much nearer than normal.

"We finished on Corstorphine Hill, in the dark at around 5.15pm, which was quite exciting."

Ms Montgomery said the recent snowfall had boosted membership of the ski club, from about 120 up to 150.

She added: "It's been great all the snow we have had because it's attracted lots of new members and it's very fun skiing in places in the city because we very often have to go up to the Cairngorms."

Although the club does a lot of "danger training", including avalanche awareness, the group was slightly dubious about going down Arthur's Seat.

Ms Montgomery said: "We mainly used wax on our skis but we used skins for the steeper bits like Arthur's Seat.

"We skied on traditional Nordic touring skis, which are light and long but rather difficult to turn, so were a bit anxious about coming down Arthur's Seat, but it was the best bit.

"You never know what rocks are going to be under the snow but it was fine."