No joy for Scots ski resorts in snowfall – it’s downright dangerous

The Glenshee centre was forced to shut down and staff were sent home because there was too much snow. It was too windy for skiing in the Cairngorms and on the Lecht, while the snow did not lie at Nevis Range and Glencoe.

Graham McCabe, manager of Glenshee Skiing Centre, said he had to send the few staff members who trekked into work back home because conditions were “dangerous”. He said: “It’s like the Antarctic up here, and that is no exaggeration. If you went out without protection over your face, well, you wouldn’t last very long, put it that way.”

Glenshee, whose season was cut short by six weeks because of the milder weather, had 6in of snow overnight.

But Colin Kirkwood at Cairngorm said: “The strong winds meant the snow hasn’t been able to lie. We haven’t had anywhere near enough lie on the ground, and even then no-one would be able to get on the slopes because of the gusts, which hit 55mph.

“If we get more snowfall over the next few days without any wind, then we might be in a position to open a piste.”