Nordic Skiing in Scotland

There are apparently lots of places to go Nordic skiing when the snow has fallen down into the Scottish valleys. These include http://www.spanglefish.com/glenmorecrosscountryskimachine/  at Glenmore Forest; http://hnoc.nordicski.co.uk in Aberdeenshire and http://slochd.co.uk in Invernesshire. Unfortunately we have not had enough snow in recent trips to the Cairngorms to try these trails out.

Heading up Carn an Tuirc

But where can you Nordic ski when there is not much snow? There are plenty of suggestins for ski-mountaineering but not so much for Nordic skiing. Andy & I have searched the maps, looking for plateaux with gentle access routes, giving us the greatest chance of a full days skiing on our skinny skis. We have found some good routes not far from Braemar.

On the top of Carn Liath

With low cloud and high winds forecast we set off to climb Carn Liath via Allt Christie Beag, a peak just over 800m, parking at Inverey, 5 miles from Braemar. The UK had been gripped by Arctic winds for the last week and the Cairngorms had seen some recent snowfall. The winds had abated and this had allowed some snow to settle. To increase our chances of having enough snow to ski on, we planned to stick to tracks hoping that the snow would have blown into the ruts and there would be enough to cover the rocks. 

Enough snow in the track to ski 😁

We were soon able to don our skis on the ascent, the snow had collected in the track and it was soft but not sticky. This allowed us to ski to the top without using skins. Outside of the track the snow was not deep enough to cover the heather. We have scaled skis and these did the job perfectly. After a quick lunch break, sheltering from the wind behind the summit cairn, we set off again on the long descent, (about 5km with roughly 200m of downhill). We would follow the track roughly north-eastwards, over Carn na Moine and then descending back to the car, through the woods. We had to leave the track periodically as rocks were poking through but there was enough snow, on the northern slopes to glide over the heather. We probably managed to ski 2/3 to 3/4 of the route. Fantastic.

Descending from Carn na Moine

The next day we opted for another track; this time we set off up Morrone on the track that leaves the road near Achallater. The plan was to head up, explore the plateau towards Carn na Drochaide and return down the same track. Again we had not gone far before we got our skis on and we skied up to point 824, just one kilometre from the summit. Unfortunately the top section of the track was not at all sunken and there was no snow on it. The slopes beside it were either too rocky, or too heathery to ski on. We continued on to the summit anyway, on foot, then returned the way that we had come. With more snow we may have been able to explore more but today there was not enough. We walked down to the car; the track was too steep, narrow and rocky to ski. 

Lovely snow on the way up Morrone

Skiing up the track to Morrone

On our last day, before the snow melted, we headed up Carn an Tuirc from the parking space a couple of miles north of Glenshee ski centre. Again we got our skis on early, very close to the road. We needed skins today and we skied all the way to the summit, skirting around to the north east to get the gentler slopes. On the summit plateau we struggled to stand up in the wind. There was also very little snow; the rocks were not at all covered. So, unfortunately our plan to ski to Glas Maol was scuppered. However we did manage to ski all the way down to the road, without skins! This is a brilliant nordic ski route and would have been all the better had we been able to explore the plateau as planned.

Not far from the road on our ascent of Carn an Tuirc

Still climbing & skiing on Carn an Tuirc

Skiing down Carn an Tuirc

Last year we were based in Newtonmore near Aviemore and skied a lot on the wide, gentle tops east of Dalwhinnie. We had some brilliant ski days but found that the ascents were steeper and with colder temperatures the snow was icier. Therefore we walked up slopes more last year and also walked down. There was, however, some great skiing up on the plateau. 

On the icy tops last year, near Dalwhinnie

To make the most of our days cross-country skiing in Scotland we have backcountry skis, boots and bindings but our heels cannot be fixed into the bindings. We have skins for the skis; these have been more useful slowing our descents and allowing us to keep our skis on when common sense says that we should walk! We also carry our micro-spikes that fit onto our ski boots. The boots have great soles and good ankle support and are also great for hiking in when we have to take the skis off. With this set up we can pretty much go anywhere.