You are NOT Logged in.
Chat about all aspects of snowsports, backcountry, climbing and mountaineering.
Goto Thread: PreviousNext
Goto: Forum ListMessage ListNew TopicSearchLog In
Goto Page:  123Next
Current Page:1 of 3
Peter Thorn


Posts: 268
Joined: Dec 2002
Last Visited: 09:17
16th Mar 2021
Clashindarroch snow 2016
Date Posted: 14.06hrs on Sat 21 Nov 15
Sat 21st Nov.

We had the first day of skiing in the Clash today. About 5-7cm of snow but thin in parts. In the end Timberline & myself decided to call the conditions marginal because you tended to catch stones on the downhills, but it was very close to being good conditions. I would advise old skis. It was -2degC in the carpark at midday. The skiing may become better once the fluffy snow consolidates a bit but I suspect this snow3 won't last long.

Some of the upper trails are very rutted due to timber extraction operations over the summer. The Forestry Commission have promised to reinstate these very soon - they need to as some sections would be very difficult if not impassable for the snowmobile. You will also see that some large sections of trees have disappeared but this shouldn't affect the snowholding, in fact it may improve some stretches.

Attachments: Clash first snow a.jpg (426kB)  
Peter Thorn


Posts: 268
Joined: Dec 2002
Last Visited: 09:17
16th Mar 2021
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2016
Date Posted: 14.49hrs on Sun 22 Nov 15
Sun 22nd Nov

An extra couple of cm of snow overnight made the skiing much better today. The downhills were far better & only occasionally would stones scratch your ski bases. Warmer today, about 2degC at lunchtime.

The only problem was that late Sat afternoon a vehicle had driven into the forest along the Biathlon Range entrance turned left up Deer Track then headed off along the main drag over to Herringbone Hill then out of the forest that way. The track is still skiable but obviously the ruts don't help. I will be asking the Forestry Commission for an explanation. It has only taken one day of skiing before there was an issue on the trails - I think that is a record.

Timberline


Posts: 491
Joined: Apr 2010
Last Visited: 20:54
24th Feb 2021
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2016
Date Posted: 16.51hrs on Mon 30 Nov 15
3-4cm of snow at Clashindarroch today. Nice powder but not enough to stop breaking through to stones, and there are long thin or bare sections in the usual places. Grassy trails were not bad. All in all not as good as the first day of the season (Sat. 21st November).



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 17.04hrs Mon 30 Nov 15 by Timberline.

Timberline


Posts: 491
Joined: Apr 2010
Last Visited: 20:54
24th Feb 2021
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2016
Date Posted: 17.00hrs on Tue 1 Dec 15
This morning's sleety snow added a further centimetre to the trails, helping some of the thin bits, but the stones were still there on Leids Leap. The going was slower than usual due to the prevailing damp. It looks unlikely that much skiable snow, if any, will survive tonight's upward swing in temperatures.

Timberline


Posts: 491
Joined: Apr 2010
Last Visited: 20:54
24th Feb 2021
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2016
Date Posted: 12.54hrs on Sat 26 Dec 15
With the temperature at plus 2, the Clash has been narrowly missing out on the snow today. At 11.30 it was sleeting at the foot of Leids Leap, and there was no snow on the ground. The Buck was in cloud but it's likely to have been snowing on the upper slopes. Yet the weather didn't deter at least one Aberdeenshire skier -- at 11am a roller skier was spied in the middle of Oyne. Now, I wonder who that might have been...

Timberline


Posts: 491
Joined: Apr 2010
Last Visited: 20:54
24th Feb 2021
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2016
Date Posted: 15.40hrs on Sun 27 Dec 15
A colder night turned the sleet to snow at Clashindarroch, giving 10cm snowfall by morning, a temperature of plus 1,and Christmas card scenes in the forest. Despite this, the skiing could only be described as "good in parts", with tree drip and underlying ground conditions causing skis to ball up. Depths on the trails varied from 3 to 10cm, with thinner or bare stretches in the usual places. By mid-afternoon, the temperature had dropped to zero, giving some improvement. Disappointing to find that stones have recently appeared on the top part of Telemark Twist (the sneaky descent heading north on the main trail) -- just where one needs the full width for turning and/or braking. Skiable trail width is reduced by half, although today the snow was too thin anyway at that point.

Timberline


Posts: 491
Joined: Apr 2010
Last Visited: 20:54
24th Feb 2021
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2016
Date Posted: 16.55hrs on Mon 28 Dec 15
After an overnight thaw there is no skiable snow at the Clash, but the melt has revealed the cause of the stones on the trail at Telemark Twist. Where subsidence of the forest road has occurred, various bits of the main trail have been reinforced with fresh stone presumably for safe use by timber lorries (when there is no snow). Where this work has been done the surface is not as smooth as it was, and a considerable amount of snow will be needed to give adequate cover.

Peter Thorn


Posts: 268
Joined: Dec 2002
Last Visited: 09:17
16th Mar 2021
Clashindarroch snow Fri 8th Jan
Date Posted: 15.54hrs on Fri 8 Jan 16
1300hrs: carpark temp = 0deg C. Sunny.

There was significant snowfall last night but unfortunately with the wet ground there was significant melting as well, at least on the lower trails. There is currently 1-2cm on the lower trails increasing to 15cm on the upper trails with bare stretches. The skiing is marginal, but if you are prepared to walk/ski up to the Haute Route you will find some good skiing albeit with puddle & bare patches. Be careful on the main trail with numerous stones used for the recent road repairs. Any downhills will be dodgy.

There is insufficient snow to groom the trails and I have decided to cancel the planned Clash Dash sprints this weekend.

The forecast is set to remain fairly cold which should firm up what snow is there, but it doesn't look like there will be any more significant snow over the weekend. Although you will find snow in the Clash for skiing you will also need to do some walking to get to the better snow.


telemarker


Posts: 2934
Joined: Oct 2003
Last Visited: 14:59
12th Apr 2021
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2016
Date Posted: 16.10hrs on Fri 8 Jan 16
Thanks for update

Timberline


Posts: 491
Joined: Apr 2010
Last Visited: 20:54
24th Feb 2021
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2016
Date Posted: 15.44hrs on Sun 10 Jan 16
An overnight thaw has stripped any skiable snow from the lower trails, but a limited visit suggests that the Haute Route still has some skiable stretches of rather wet snow at least 6cm deep. Occasional wintry showers this afternoon, with the temperature plus 3.

Timberline


Posts: 491
Joined: Apr 2010
Last Visited: 20:54
24th Feb 2021
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2016
Date Posted: 19.39hrs on Tue 12 Jan 16
No new snow to report today. Although there was still some skiable snow on the hills leading up to the main part of the Haute Route from the Short Cut and Highland Fling junctions, the level summit stretch is too thin for skiing.

Timberline


Posts: 491
Joined: Apr 2010
Last Visited: 20:54
24th Feb 2021
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2016
Date Posted: 12.47hrs on Fri 15 Jan 16
There was about a centimetre of new snow at Clashindarroch by late morning, but not enough at that stage to make the trails generally skiable. There were still long patches of old snow on the high approaches to the Haute Route, but they do not connect across the highest part. With the weekend approaching, and further snow possible, it would be great if anyone visiting the Clash could post updates on this thread.

Peter Thorn


Posts: 268
Joined: Dec 2002
Last Visited: 09:17
16th Mar 2021
Re: Clashindarroch snow Sat 16 Jan
Date Posted: 14.22hrs on Sat 16 Jan 16
There is 1-2cm on the lower trails with up to 4cm on the Haute Route. Conditions are marginal & require old skis. I was able to ski a loop up Highland Fling & along the Haute Route but my skis suffered. I got about half way down Leids Leap before I caught a stone & ended up in the trees. The downhills on the main Highland Fling trail are not really skiable due to stones. The only practical skiing is along the Haute Route & even that isn't very good.

The good news is that is was cold -1deg C so anymore snow will fall on a cold base.


Peter Thorn


Posts: 268
Joined: Dec 2002
Last Visited: 09:17
16th Mar 2021
Re: Clashindarroch snow Tues 19 Jan
Date Posted: 13.44hrs on Tue 19 Jan 16
Temp at 1pm = 0deg C

Skiing is still marginal but there has been a slight improvement since the weekend. A dusting to 1cm snow fell last night. The main trail up Highland Fling to the Haute Route is not really skiable but the skiing is OK along the Haute Route & I managed to descend Leids Leap without crashing. I also had a fairly pleasant ski on the lower Grotto/Sheepfolds trails, the skiing was on frosted grass in parts but generally OK.

Do not use good skis.


Timberline


Posts: 491
Joined: Apr 2010
Last Visited: 20:54
24th Feb 2021
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2016
Date Posted: 16.18hrs on Fri 22 Jan 16
Prospects for the weekend at Clashindarroch are not good. Although some skiing would still have been possible on the Haute Route yesterday, the overnight rain and milder temperatures have reduced the longest skiable stretch to about 150 metres; and the forecasts suggest that this isn't going to last long. Needless to say, the lower trails have lost their snow. Fingers crossed for February!

Goto Page:  123Next
Current Page:1 of 3
Your Name: 
Your Email: 
Subject: