Scotland, as good as I can remember
February 23, 2009 on 2:26 pm | In Skiing |
The snow conditions over the last month is Scotland have been as good as any I can remember. The snow has been of the light fluffy powdery variety and there has been full coverage. People have been able to ski and snowboard on runs that have been patchy or snow free the past few seasons and the general atmosphere on the Scottish Pistes has been brilliant, showing that the ski and snowboard scene in Scotland is very much alive and well. Me enjoying powder on the Head Wall of Cairngorm.
I for one, am not too surprised at the great conditions as I was lucky enough to have some great conditions last season and the season before that too. I think the difference this year is that the great conditions are a little bit earlier in the season than the last two years. Last year, it was the end of March before it got really good in Scotland and the year before that it was April that was the best month.
Right now we are seeing a bit of a mid season thaw on the lower slopes but this is usual and I am very sure that the snow will be back in full in March bringing with it some more great Scottish ski and snowboard conditions so do not put your skis and boards away yet as I think the best is still to come.I took this picture in the middle of April last year and have every intention of getting some more of that action this season.
The great snow conditions have allowed the ski competition circuit to run in Scotland for the first time in a few years and it is great to see that there is still a keen interest and high standard of ski racing in Scotland. As well as ski racing the freestyle parks in the Scottish resorts are providing great opportunities for the young ski and snowboard freestylers to learn new tricks and practice for the up and coming national champs in Laax Switzerland at the start of April.
At the same time the freestylers are in Laas the alpine racers will be putting their home practive to the test in Meribel, France at the Alpine Ski Champs where the boys will be chasing Scottish Ski heros Noel and Alain Baxter, Andy Noble and Finlay Mickel and the girls will be chasing Pam Thorburn and UK ace Chemmy Alcott. The Scottish snowsports competitors have been having a good season which bodes well for the coming Winter Olympics in Feb 2010.
Noel Baxter finished 17th in the World Championships slalom event after finally having a few injury free weeks on snow while Ben Kilner and myself have been quietly notching up top 20 and top 15 World Cup half pipe results. Ben is looking really strong in the pipe and it is only a matter of time before he breaks in to the top ten on the World Cup tour.
As well as bolstering the interest in the home grown competition scene the recent snow lower down has sparked an interest in cross country ski-ing and what better way to see the beautiful winter scenery than to ski around the local lochs and woods!
Lesley McKenna
http://www.chunkyknit.com
Professional snowboarder, film maker and ambassador for Visitscotland. All sorts of outdoor sports from skiing to mountain biking and now mixes her time on the Snowboard World Cup Tour with time in Scotland doing these sports.
