Glencoe Scotland: Snow, Sunshine & Giant Wooly Mammoths

There's something just a bit special about winter in Glencoe although we did have to survive storms Henry, Imogen & Jake before the weather finally settled down.

Storms, what storms?

We managed to un-batten the hatches just in time for our winter festival Febfest and whilst we were busy stocking up the whisky shelves some folk were out on the slopes or riding their bikes, lucky devils.

Cracking view

Ice, Ice baby!

With all this snow around it was no surprise that our Winter Safety Lecture series that ran throughout the month was well supported. Over the four weeks we welcomed over 300 folk to the lectures.

Opening night

These four evenings, delivered by qualified mountain guides, are a chance to refresh and learn about the skills and planning required before heading out into the mountains.

Top tips from the best

Having done this for some 31 years we felt it was time for a change of venue and with plenty room to spread out and roaring fires to add atmosphere the Boots bar was the obvious choice.

Room with a view

We never tire of looking for new cask and craft ales and this year we added 4 cask ciders and over 30 Scottish gins to our range.

is it your round?

We are extremely proud of our food and top marks to the kitchen brigade for producing an interesting and varied selection for the specials board as well as our revamped menu. Well done lads

local produce.......from New York?

Throughout the month our staff were busy selling tickets to anything that moved for our Big Winter Raffle. We had a shed load of prizes including 100 baby mammoths accompanied by their dad.

What do you mean 'it's too warm'

Stacks of beer, cider, whisky, Mammut holdalls, accommodation, gear, food and activity vouchers along with t-shirts galore were all up for grabs.

Sorry, Pool table out of action for a bit

So where did you get all the prizes?, who won what?, how much did you raise? Good questions.

Many thanks to our sponsor Mammut who, as well as throwing lots of goodies at us, also dig deep into their pockets to pay for the lecture series. But we couldn't do it without the support of our suppliers and local businesses who get right behind our fundraising efforts.

So a big 'Thank You' in no particular order to:

Mammut UK

Rich Pyne

Glencoe Independent Hostel

Nevisport

Letterfinlay Specialist Foods

Ice Factor

SeaXplorer

Cairngorm Brewery

Isle Of Skye Brewery

Thistly Cross Cider

Anteallach Brewery

Orkney Brewery

Benromach

Gordon & Macphail

Alex Roddie - Epic author
Karl from Glencoe Photographic for taking the snaps
Kristin, Will & Liam for assisting with the draw

Special thanks to the lecturers:
Andy Nelson
Davy Gunn
Andy Spink
Rich Pyne

We are still counting the pennies but we have raised over £1000 so far.

And now for the Winners!