Staff dig out course for snow sport event

A MAJOR winter sports event was in danger of being cancelled yesterday – because there was too much snow on the mountain.

But the Highlander Slopestyle event for skiers and snowboarders is due to go ahead at the Nevis Range centre near Fort William today after staff dug out the course which was buried under five feet of snow.

Chris MacPherson, engineering manager at Nevis Range, said: "The team

used probes that are normally used in avalanche forecasting, to help locate the features of the park, as well as our large snow grooming machines to shift the huge piles of snow."

The competition is part of a series of contests at the mountain resorts in the winter.