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jabuzzard


Posts: 885
Joined: Jan 2010
Last Visited: 11:02
16th Apr 2021
Re: CairnGorm - Natural Retreats development proposals
Date Posted: 13.21hrs on Wed 23 Aug 17
tim1mw Wrote:

The other possibility is that because CG is much higher profile, reducing capacity there while improving things elsewhere is a backhanded way of keeping the environmental lobby quite. From a pure uplift capacity point of view the new lifts at GC and GS probably match what is being lost at CG by not putting the Ciste back into action, so you solve a political problem by shifting skiing away from the flagship which the environmental lobby will always complain to places where it will attract less controversy.


I think it is far more likely that someone at HIE is from the remove all lift infrastructure from the landscape, it's an eyesore fraternity. What is happening now on the mountain is an act of pure wanton vandalism.

David Goldsmith


Posts: 1283
Joined: Feb 2003
Last Visited: 08:28
6th Nov 2018
Re: CairnGorm - Natural Retreats development proposals
Date Posted: 08.55hrs on Thu 24 Aug 17
Report from The Press and Journal about Natural Retreat's plans for the plastic slopes:

[www.pressandjournal.co.uk]

kammy


Posts: 295
Joined: Jan 2004
Last Visited: 21:23
2nd Mar 2021
Re: CairnGorm - Natural Retreats development proposals
Date Posted: 12.14hrs on Thu 24 Aug 17
Very depressing to see the lifts go, when they could have been utilised for greater access.

alan


Posts: 10768
Joined: Nov 1994
Last Visited: 17:02
27th Mar 2024
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: CairnGorm - Natural Retreats development proposals
Date Posted: 11.14hrs on Thu 18 Jan 18
Natural Retreats and CairnGorm Mountain Ltd are holding an open day this afternoon in the Cairngorm Hotel until 5pm about their plan to expand the Ptarmigan Restaurant, at the moment this seems to be the last surviving part of the 'masterplan' unveiled by HIE as 'agreed' last year that included the Windy Ridge dry slope.





Edited 1 times. Last edit at 11.15hrs Thu 18 Jan 18 by alan.

Attachments: ptarmiganplan.jpg (42kB)  
WeeSam


Posts: 110
Joined: Sep 2014
Last Visited: 00:53
5th Apr 2021
Re: CairnGorm - Natural Retreats development proposals
Date Posted: 14.52hrs on Thu 18 Jan 18
eyesore

harley


Posts: 202
Joined: Mar 2010
Last Visited: 18:52
13th Jun 2019
Re: CairnGorm - Natural Retreats development proposals
Date Posted: 18.34hrs on Fri 19 Jan 18
Good to see a company looking to the future.
Bring it on boys.

WindyMiller


Posts: 654
Joined: Sep 2010
Last Visited: 17:31
1st Sep 2019
Re: CairnGorm - Natural Retreats development proposals
Date Posted: 12.54hrs on Sun 18 Feb 18
Interesting to read about the American company, SEgroup, that has been appointed to carry out the review of the Cairngorm Estate. They do appear to have done this sort of thing before in the US.

At least I am pleased it is not a local company doing it as I could not see how they would be impartial. I was looking to see if they had any connection with Natural Retreats US but can not find one.

Have a look at their web site and come to your own opinions.

[http:]




kammy


Posts: 295
Joined: Jan 2004
Last Visited: 21:23
2nd Mar 2021
Re: CairnGorm - Natural Retreats development proposals
Date Posted: 13.06hrs on Sun 18 Feb 18
WindyMiller Wrote:
Interesting to read about the American company, SEgroup, that has been appointed to carry out the review of the Cairngorm Estate. They do appear to have done this sort of thing before in the US.

At least I am pleased it is not a local company doing it as I could not see how they would be impartial. I was looking to see if they had any connection with Natural Retreats US but can not find one.

Have a look at their web site and come to your own opinions.






Hi Windymiller, the link doesn't seem to be working.

WindyMiller


Posts: 654
Joined: Sep 2010
Last Visited: 17:31
1st Sep 2019
Re: CairnGorm - Natural Retreats development proposals
Date Posted: 13.41hrs on Sun 18 Feb 18
kammy Wrote:





Hi Windymiller, the link doesn't seem to be working.


Not sure what went wrong there but try entering segroup.com

They are very pro skiing and have 50 years history in the skiing industry. Read their bio.



alan


Posts: 10768
Joined: Nov 1994
Last Visited: 17:02
27th Mar 2024
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: CairnGorm - Natural Retreats development proposals
Date Posted: 16.09hrs on Sun 18 Feb 18
It’s difficult to take this review seriously when:

They chopped up the chairlifts prior to the review.

Removed significant quantities of snow fencing basically removing access to terrain like the East Wall gullies, Laogh Mor Return, upper White Lady (above tunnel), while fencing on runs like the Ficaill lie in ruins.

Are going to ram through a white elephant extension to the Ptarmigan Restaurant, that is in cloud a third of days even in the height of summer.

Appear from a variety of local and industry sources to have ruled out use of a snow factory or further snow making, in favour of a wholly unsuitable snowflex dry slope.

Planning to reinstate the White Lady T-bar, which was not removed due to the core lift policy. A surface lift here is difficult to use, very difficult to maintain an uptrack on and could hardly run anyway due to impact of the Funicular on snow lie. A chairlift would be far more useful here, it could serve the whole Cas side mid mountain for all abilities. A modern chair could with careful tower planning run in 50mph cross winds, in the band between there and the 80knots cut off for the Funicular the numbers actually skiing would drop off quickly such as the Funicular would cope adequately.

He who pays the piper calls the tune. To many prejudgements made. If the review rejects the decisions already made will HIE listen? Will the consultants be allowed to find against the actions and plans of the client?

A better future for CairnGorm Mountain starts with the removal of HIE and NAIL (or whoever actually owns CML, HIE don’t seem to know anymore).

kammy


Posts: 295
Joined: Jan 2004
Last Visited: 21:23
2nd Mar 2021
Re: CairnGorm - Natural Retreats development proposals
Date Posted: 16.40hrs on Sun 18 Feb 18
I agree Alan, its totally beyond me why have they removed the chairlift, with the chairlift in operation it would have opened up more terrain attracted more ski-iers and visitors and it would have helped to reduce queues and added more business for Cairngorm ski centre, but I wonder how useful the snow factory has been when Cairngorm were trialling it?

tupp


Posts: 234
Joined: Apr 2010
Re: CairnGorm - Natural Retreats development proposals
Date Posted: 19.40hrs on Sun 18 Feb 18
When I had a look at it they were blasting the product straight into the burn.


some frustrated skier


Posts: 236
Joined: Mar 2003
Last Visited: 21:55
16th Feb 2021
Re: CairnGorm - Natural Retreats development proposals
Date Posted: 19.55hrs on Mon 19 Feb 18
Let’s hope that some home truths are revealed....

alan


Posts: 10768
Joined: Nov 1994
Last Visited: 17:02
27th Mar 2024
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: CairnGorm - Dryslope folly back in planning
Date Posted: 16.14hrs on Wed 21 Mar 18
Natural Retreats are once again bringing forward again the previously ditched plan for a dry slope on the Windy Ridge. Further they appear to be seeking to obtain planning permission without confirming the material for which the slope will be constructed - something that will have a significant impact on the scale / type of ground works required.

They were absolute that the slope would be snowflex, the CNPA has already expressed their concerns about this, so this application should first and foremost be rejected as incomplete.

There is currently an £80k+ review of CairnGorm Mountain in progress by external consultants which is due to report in the autumn (Sep 2018).

Since the process of initiating this consultation, HIE and CML have already prejudiced its findings by chopping up the Coire na Ciste and West Wall Chairlifts, when part of the brief was to be weighing up the costs / benefits of repair vs replacement. Pushing ahead with the dryslope will further prejudice the review of CairnGorm.



To view all documentation, go to the highland.gov.uk, select planning and search for PH22 1RB. It is not possible to deep link into the planning portal, and you must now also register to comment!

All of the other four Scottish areas either have or had dry slopes, all but the Glencoe slope were Dendix and situated at high elevation (above 2000ft). Of these high slopes the Glenshee and Lecht one were removed and the Nevis Range slope is not used for snowsports in summer.

The evidence to date is that there is next to zero market for summer snowsports on mountain dryslopes, because people will if they are so inclined make use of a local dry slope. Glencoe's slope is used entirely for tubing outwith the snowsports season. Something which looks to be out of the question given the profile of this slope as indicated by the visuals and plans.

The location adjacent to the Daylodge Poma faces into and is fully exposed to the prevailing West / South West winds which accelerate over this ridge - hence why it's been known by generations of walkers, climbers and skiers as the Windy Ridge.

The location will also do nothing to alleviate the fact this business has no income when the road to Coire Cas is closed. Following open days last year a figure of £1.2m was talked about to construct this slope.

There maybe a case for a smaller dry slope at a different location and lower elevation on CairnGorm, but ultimately people come to CairnGorm Mountain to learn on SNOW and the majority of lessons would be cancelled if the only option was a dryslope.

What is proposed in a visually highly sensitive and highly exposed location is an absolute folly and extreme waste of public funds and it needs to be stopped.




Edited 2 times. Last edit at 16.30hrs Wed 21 Mar 18 by alan.

Attachments: dryslope-forum.jpg (133kB)  
growwild


Posts: 3550
Joined: Oct 2005
Re: CairnGorm - Dryslope folly back in planning
Date Posted: 19.42hrs on Wed 21 Mar 18
I wouldn't be shocked if this got passed when it should be "I would be shocked"...



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