Doug_Bryce Wrote:
Great to see Glenshee invest in new lifts .
However (and I hate to be negative) the top of Cairnwell T-Bar is a notably windy location. Westerly winds funnel right over that col. With the Tiger and Cairnwell both chairlifts then that side of the mountain becomes prone to wind closure....
.
The ridge crest is exposed, but the lifts only break over onto the crest, not running in an exposed location, plus the direction the wind will be strongest on the col will also be parallel to the lift line and the bulk of the lift lines are pretty sheltered by the standard of the Cairngorms. I've been at Glenshee on days that both the old Cairnwell Chair and Cairnwell T-bar were running when CairnGorm had been completely shut by SW winds, the Cairnwell seems to deflect them to some degree.
An artificially negative impression of chairlift capabilities was created in Scotland on CairnGorm in the run-up to the Funicular opening. While the Funicular was in the planning stages the wind limit for the GMD Mueller Chairlifts was reduced from a manufacture recommendation of a mean of 38mph across the line to a much more restrictive limit of gusts of 25mph in any direction.
This quad will be a game changer in terms of access to early intermediate terrain, there are fantastic long greens and easy blues much under utilised such as the Bunny Run and Butchart's area because access to the full trails was by a steep T-bar or fairly challenging fast Poma respectively.
This will be achieved while still significantly enhancing the capacity for accessing more advanced terrain. Also with the Baddoch Chair, it will be possible to have decent snowsports available with easy access in conditions in the past where it would have required a walk up to the Cairnwell Cafe or even Butchart's T-bar, if the ski area even opened at all.
Along with the Plateau chairlift being built next summer at Glencoe, unless there is a very major rethink in direction soon, then CairnGorm's market share will be history. CML like to trumpet that they are Scotland's premier ski area, those days are self evidently in the past and Scotland's premier ski area(s) begins with Glen....