The Scottish skiing resort of Glen Shee had been hoping for a third consecutive extended ski season, but this is looking increasingly unlikely. Twelve months ago, the resort was already four weeks into its best season in decades. A combination of gale force winds and milder temperatures have meant that any snow that has fallen has not stayed long enough to accumulate. It is looking like January before an extended run at the slopes is going to be possible.

No Reason to be Downhearted

Managing director of the Glen Shee resort, Graham McCabe remains upbeat about the prospects for the season, saying that it will “turn around again.” McCabe predicts that it will only take the “first blast of snow” to have the resort up and running, and teeming with skiers. With the current climate not looking helpful to those wishing to pull on their ski boots, McCabe’s forecasts suggest that it will be “a week into January before we can really get going again.”

Back to Reality

Rather than be downbeat about the lack of snow, McCabe is choosing to treat the conditions of the last two years as anomalous. “You can never guarantee when it will start snowing, how long it will last for or how long it will lie,” commented McCabe. In recent memory, there have been vast extremes, with 1992’s season lasting until April, and 2007’s lasting for “next to nothing.”