How clean is your Glen?

Where's Kim & Aggie?

 With spring well and truly upon us Clachaig staff ably assisted by Thomas from the Youth Hostel and Keith from the Glencoe Independent Hostel spent the morning collecting litter from Glencoe village to the A82 junction.

Along with our neighbouring accommodation providers we recognise the need to operate our business so as to minimise our impact on the environment.

No real 'treasure' found this year but we did come across 4 unopened cans of  lager between here & the campsite....discarded in favour of a real pint in the Boots bar no doubt.

Can you tell what it is yet? (day 3)

The secret is out. Partly because there's a big play frame sat outside the inn now, and partly because we tagged our blog entry with CHILDRENS PLAY AREA!

Anyway, the frame is now all but complete and as soon as the little finishing touches are added the landscaping will start. Hopefully we'll have the new addition open for the end of next week.

It's been a long time coming, but we already think that although we've had to wait we've definitely made the right  decision. It looks fantastic, and the kids are going to love it. And chances are, that will mean that mum and dad will love it too.

We're off to write our risk assessments now, which will extend to, amongst other things, keeping the big kids off it!

Can you tell what it is yet? (day 2)

There were a few slightly concerned faces on some of the staff this morning (though work rates did improve considerably!)

 However, a few sighs of relief this afternoon as things progressed a little further.

Can you tell what it is yet?

The diggers are back at Clachaig again. But what are they up to this time?

Check back here again later in the week and all will be revealed!

Day of days at Nevis Range

An overnight frost, clear blue skies and amazing visibility, and huge amounts of snow following the storm at the weekend... Yes, today was a day to tell the folks in the office that I'd be "working from home"!


Dropping in to Chancer's at Nevis Range from Ed Daynes on Vimeo.

Best day of the winter. Well, so far!

At the top of Winger's Wall, with Spean Bridge and the entrance to the Great Glen beyond.

 The Rum Cuillin were clearly visible in the far distance today.

Hope it rains tomorrow. My knees can't stand another day like today!

Snow!

Just a quick note to say that if you want to get in touch with us at Clachaig this week but no one's answering the phone, or your email reply is taking a little longer than usual then our apologies. We've probably all gone skiing!

MD Andy Meldrum outside the ticket office at Glencoe Mountain today 
Sunday 13th March 2011

Friday into Saturday, into the early hours of Sunday saw continuous snowfall at pretty much all levels. However, Glencoe village seemed to avoid the settling snow while Ballachulish saw several inches lying; a scene repeated in Fort William.

 The chairlift at Glencoe Mountain first thing this morning.

On the hills however, there's ridiculous amounts of the white stuff. Glencoe Mountain have had to dig out their ticket office, and that's just at the car park. Meanwhile, one of the best runs at Nevis Range today was back down under the gondola line, back to the car park - and that doesn't happen very often.

 Catch this! Nevis Range car park earlier today.

Conditions like these don't come often enough, so while they're here we hope you don't blame us for making most of them. Normal service will be resumed as soon as the legs are too tired...

(And jesting aside, power to the local transmitter mast has been interrupted, causing a loss of mobile signals. Not sure how long the problems will continue but be advised that mobiles in the Glencoe/Ballachulish area are likely to be without signal at the moment.)

Winter isn't over yet!

For everyone who thinks that the warmer temperatures of last week and the daffodils poking through in the garden mean that winter is over, think again! Snow is very much the weather of the moment, and chances are the folks at Clachaig will be hitting the slopes given a spare moment.

Tempted to join us? Read this press release from Glencoe Mountain and you will be!

‘There is more snow on the mountain now than ever!’ quotes ski patrol at Glencoe Mountain Resort who have managed to get up to the patrol hut for the first time in two days due to the storm. After a particularly vicious thaw in February it makes a most welcome change, just three days of high winds (which were recorded gusting 110mph!) and heavy snowfall, the entire resort is white again and all the gullies, streams and rock faces are covered in a smooth layer of packed powder snow. Even the run down to the car park (down at 305m) has been skied a few times already today.

 Looking good for the weekend - but eating your packed lunch could be a chilly affair

The resort has been quiet all season which means while many people rushed for the big centres of Glenshee and Cairngorm, Glencoe has managed to stay free of queues and car parking issues and with the A82 running past the front door, the road is usually the first to be cleared. The £30k of brand new Salomon skis and snowboards that arrived at ski hire have had a relatively easy winter so there isn’t they don’t have the ‘scottish hire ski syndrome’ of gouged bases, buckled edges and creaky bindings!

With the mountain being quiet the ski school have been able to spend lots of time building rails and boxes for the park with the help of the GPC (Glencoe Park Crew) last weekends ‘Freestyle Jam’ saw some really exciting action from some of the countries best skiers and boarders, Glencoe Mountain’s sponsored rider Hector Barbour took first place with some huge airs off the top kicker, good training for his next big event The Brits, out in Laax, Switzerland.

So if you are looking for the fresh stuff this weekend without getting stuck in queue, you will find Glencoe Mountain is the place to be!

www.glencoemountain.com
01855 851226