Snow Sport in Scotland – A Mini Adventure

There is a certain romance attached to skiing – the idea of swishing down Alpine slopes under blue skies, followed by schnapps in front of a cosy log fire regaling tales of the day is idyllic in the extreme. It’s just not very representative of the average day’s skiing in Scotland. Learning to ski in Scotland is a baptism of fire – you’re much more likely to be faced with windburn than sunburn. As well as gales you might be faced with blizzards, rain, hailstones or all three. But despite all that, Scotland is actually a really great place to learn to ski or snowboard. No, really. You’re never too old to learn, and with artificial slopes in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, you are but a bus ride away from a mini adventure.

Midlothian Ski Centre (formerly known as Hillend) is on the outskirts of the capital and boasts two main slopes, a couple of nursery slopes and a jump and features area. It’s an easy introduction to snowsports – you can hire all the equipment, get a lesson and be back on your sofa/in the pub in less than three hours. It might not offer the same glamour as a weekend jaunt to Verbier, but it’s produced some incredibly talented skiers over the years.

Twenty-one year old Murray Buchan from Edinburgh is a professional freestyle skier, and a member of the British ski team. He competes all over the world and is in the running to represent the UK in the half pipe competition at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014. “I completely owe my career to Hillend. That’s where I learned to ski and where I spent all my time when I was younger. My parents would drop me off on Friday afternoon and that would be me until the Sunday – I would just train solidly for two days.

“The snow can be really unpredictable in Scotland, so it can be hard to plan trips up north to the resorts. But what a lot of people don’t realise is that the Scottish climate is actually perfect for dry slope skiing and boarding. The rain and generally damp weather help improve the surface of the slope, making it easier and faster to ski on.”

If you’re not brave enough to face the Scottish climate then let’s be honest – snowsports probably aren’t for you, but you can still give it a go by heading indoors to Xscape at Braehead. This massive indoor facility lets you test out your skills on real snow without the inconvenience of wind or rain. You’re not allowed on the main slope if you don’t know what you’re doing but there’s an extensive range of ski and boarding lessons to choose from. You can hire everything you need when you get there but remember to still dress warmly – you may be inside but the temperature is somewhere around -4.

Once you’ve dabbled in the cities it’s time to head north. There are five ski resorts in Scotland: Glenshee, The Lecht, Nevis Range, Glencoe and Cairngorm. If artificial slopes don’t appeal or you feel you’re ready to move on, these are where you should head. Again, they offer everything you need in the way of equipment, and you can also book into a lesson or hire an instructor for some one on one tuition. On a bad day, taking to the slopes in Scotland can feel like an endurance test. But if you hit the resorts in good conditions, there’s nothing quite like it. Good snow and bluebird skies make for pretty special days – cruising down the mountain with a 360 degree view of the Scottish landscape spread out before you is breathtaking.

The resorts are also the best place to hone your skills if you decide to swan off to the Alps with your newfound talents. Learning to use chairlifts and tows here will save the humiliation of face planting over there. The best thing about skiing and boarding in Scotland is its accessibility – whether that’s hopping on the no. 15 to Hillend or heading just a couple of hours north into the great outdoors. And you can always buy a bottle of schnapps on the way home.