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telemarker


Posts: 2934
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12th Apr 2021
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 18.17hrs on Sat 22 Feb 20
Gutted to read not enough snow at clash, thought it would be better after we experienced some hefty snow showers whilst mountain biking around Bennachie
Oh well, will head to the higher hills tomorrow

Timberline


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24th Feb 2021
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Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 20.41hrs on Sat 22 Feb 20
Hi Telemarker

Worth having a look at the forecast for Monday.

Timberline


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Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 14.23hrs on Sun 23 Feb 20
There was a light snow flurry at midday, but it added nothing to the 1.5cm recorded at the car park yesterday. The forecast predicts significant snowfall on Monday, coming in on an easterly wind for a change.Time to get the snow scraper down from the loft...

telemarker


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Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 15.54hrs on Sun 23 Feb 20
Yep, Monday’s forecast looks good for snow @clash

Timberline


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Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 16.20hrs on Mon 24 Feb 20
At 1315hrs on Monday, the snow depth in the car park had reached 6cm, with snow falling at the rate of 2cm per hour. Temperature zero, and the snow was damp, with no sign of drifting. Trail conditions too sticky to ski! (wax wizards excepted). But in due course, conditions can only become better than any we've seen since last season, at least. As of lunchtime, the roads and car park had moderate snow, but travel conditions are of course subject to change.

Timberline


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Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 16.49hrs on Tue 25 Feb 20
A bluebird day at the Clash, with 20cm of snow, blue skies and no wind. Main trails have been compacted, offering good skiing. There was a tendency for the skis to stick now and again, but this should be resolved with the gentle freeze and thaw cycles expected this week. And there is a welcome supply of soft snow at the sides if you do need to slow down! All being well, snow conditions should continue to be good for the next few days but it is too soon to be sure about the weekend. The front part of the car park had 15cm of snow this morning but this has now been compacted, so is reasonably accessible. It will probably become icy.



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 16.51hrs Tue 25 Feb 20 by Timberline.

Attachments: 2020-02-25 001 006 (600x800).jpg (370kB)  
telemarker


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12th Apr 2021
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 17.19hrs on Tue 25 Feb 20
Looks great thanks for photo and report

Timberline


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Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 00.53hrs on Fri 28 Feb 20
Thursday saw a couple of centimetres of fresh snow on top of the existing good cover. The main trails have cut tracks at the side and are in good shape. Lesser used trails such as Secret Passage can be a bit sticky due to the lack of a frozen base under the soft snow. It looks as if the weekend will bring a little rain and a little snow, but with plenty of good skiing on offer. There has been some drifting on the open hill above the forest, but the indications from a brief struggle on the slope beside Snowgoose are that the Timberline snowfield has not yet consolidated sufficiently to be skiable.



Timberline


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Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 16.56hrs on Fri 28 Feb 20
There is good snow cover almost everywhere, with undisturbed depth at least 20cm. Main trails have been well compacted and there are cut tracks at the sides. Snow is a little thin, due to tree canopy, at the top of Short Cut and likewise in the “alley” section at the top of Wildcat, but both are skiable. The Timberline snowfield is too soft to ski without a struggle, and it needs more snow to drift in to bring it into condition. It started snowing again at all levels on Friday at midday, with fine-grained wet flakes which were not adding much to the depth, and it looked like this would be continuing for some time.

By mid-afternoon Friday there was a slight dusting of snow on the main road. The car park is expected to be busy over the weekend. The front section is readily accessible on packed snow. If 4x4 drivers are happy to park in the back section this will be welcomed. It has a smooth parking strip against the fence on the right hand side as one goes in, but this is currently concealed under deep soft snow, so a shovel will be useful.

Timberline


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Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 19.37hrs on Sat 29 Feb 20
The early hours of Saturday brought a minor setback in the shape of rain and a brief rise in temperatures, which took the shine off the open hill and brought some loss of quality to the snow in the forest. However, by the time the first skiers arrived the temperature had dropped to plus 2, and by mid-afternoon the sky was blue, the tramlines were glazed and the snow was crisping nicely, ensuring there’ll be plenty of skiing available on Sunday. A couple of trail notes: Short Cut has thinned out considerably, needing care in descent. On Leids Leap the steep corners are smooth, thin and will probably be icy. An odd snow shower overnight wouldn’t go amiss.

The compacted snow in the car park turned to slush on Saturday. If there’s a frost, this could turn into rutted ice, but access to the front car park should be fine, just needing a little care. Thank you to the 4x4 drivers who parked in the back section on Saturday.


Timberline


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Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 19.48hrs on Sun 1 Mar 20
An overnight frost and a dusting of fresh snow, replenished again at midday, improved conditions for Sunday. There was good skiing almost everywhere, though Range Way and Short Cut are wearing thin. By mid-afternoon the popular trails were smooth and much faster as temperatures dropped. Skiers on Leids Leap should beware of maintenance vehicle tracks on the mid and lower sections of the route, but the middle of trail is smooth and skiable for those who can cope with speed! It should remain cold for the week ahead, giving continued skiing opportunities, but more snow is needed to forestall a slow decline in conditions.

antbjanne


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11th Apr 2021
Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 20.44hrs on Sun 1 Mar 20
To add to Timberline's report as I came down Leids at 16.30ish another maintenance vehicle had accessed the mast (and he had proper tyres this time) so he's further chewed up the sides of Leids all the way up. Shame it was a pick up and not the Argocat which would have done much less damage.

Timberline


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Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 17.15hrs on Tue 3 Mar 20
Snow cover is almost as good as on Sunday. Some downhills are fast and somewhat icy, e.g. Deer Track, Range Way, Telemark Twist. The Haute Route is in great condition, and Highland Fling appears to offer a smooth descent on good snow (I was going up). Descending Leids Leap is for the experts. The Main Drag (between Telemark Twist and Highland Fling) is thinning out but still useable.

Timberline


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Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 17.21hrs on Wed 4 Mar 20
An HNSC coach reports sunshine skiing today with good snow cover in most areas, thanks to another overnight frost. But there is a lot of ice about, along with compacted hard snow, requiring great care on downhills. This even applies on the gentle gradient of Biathlon Way which is the exit from the Hytti and Range to the main entrance. Where the frost lifts, softer snow exists in sunny areas and hills not heavily snowploughed including the sides of tracks. It seems likely that the Haute Route will still have the excellent snow which was reported on Tuesday, but getting down off it may be another matter! All in all, a challenging mix which may blunt pole tips but will sharpen ski skills.

The car park has a mosaic of bare patches, hard snow and ice.





Timberline


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Re: Clashindarroch snow 2019-2020
Date Posted: 18.17hrs on Fri 6 Mar 20
There has been relatively little loss of snow cover since last weekend, but the depth and quality on the trails themselves has suffered due to overnight frost, wear and tear, and lack of new snow. From the main entrance on Biathlon Way and beyond, along the Main Drag, the surfaces today were either “concrete” or ice, with any downhill gradients, however slight, being very fast. Untracked snow at the sides gave some respite. The same would apply to many of the busier trails, which makes the much better snow on the Haute Route somewhat challenging to get to. There is full cover and full depth on the Range. Beyond the thin and polished downhill at Telemark Twist (where the discretionary option is to inch down the rushy right-hand verge), the Main Drag has a short bare patch followed by thin and scratchy ice for a couple of hundred yards before slightly better cover appears. The descent at the start of Normans Way has a couple of bare patches and is effectively not skiable. Short Cut is thin but OK in ascent. It is likely that Leids Leap and Deer Track are even harder and faster in descent than they had become by last Sunday afternoon. Range Way is thin and would be difficult to descend under control at present. Milder temperatures are forecast for Saturday but we will have to wait and see what effect this has, especially if it rains as well. One fairly sure prediction is that the thin surfaces around the Hytti area will wear out fairly soon.

Sunday is the back-up date for the HNSC Open Championships. There will be an inspection on Saturday to see if it will be feasible to hold this event, which would necessarily be along a severely abbreviated course if it does go ahead.


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