Glenshee
Situated on the A93, 26 miles west of Ballater, 9 miles south of Braemar and 25 miles north of Blairgowrie.
It's 3,504 ft of mountain adventure that beckons to skiers and snowboarders alike. From invitingly easy to the surprisingly steep, Glenshee offers the most extensive skiing and snowboarding in Scotland.
Glenshee or Gleann Shith, (Gaelic for Glen of the Fairies), flanks the highest public road in Scotland which runs through the Cairnwell pass, formerly one of the main historic drove routes from the Highlands to the Lowlands.
Skiing began there in the late thirties when a few enthusiasts who had learned to ski in Europe, came here to practice their new-found sport. Following the war, some of them returned to build simple rope tows, driven off the rear wheel of tractors and in 1957, Dundee Ski Club built the first T-Bar tow on Meall Odhar. As skiing grew in popularity, five of these pioneers reached an agreement to lease the land from Invercauld Estate and went on to form Glenshee Chairlift Company Limited, which remains the company name today.
In December 1962, with the completion of Cairnwell Chairlift and a small café, Glenshee was opened to the public and enjoyed fantastic snow conditions. So, emboldened by success, Sunnyslope T-Bar was opened in the summer of 1963. Unfortunately, through a cruel twist of fate, that winter was a wash out and the new tow operated for just seven days. However, despite this disappointing start, the commitment to development over the years has made Glenshee the largest Ski Centre in the UK, with 25 lifts and tows running over 4 mountains and 3 valleys. |
Lecht
The Lecht Ski Resort is located between Tomintoul and Cockbridge on the A939 and is approximately 18 miles from Ballater. It should take you a maximum of 40 minutes from Ballater by car depending on the road conditions.
There is excellent winter skiing, especially for beginners between Christmas and Easter. Snowboarding is also popular at this resort.
There are also many summer activities available at the Lecht for all the family including deval karting, tubing, dry slope skiing and boarding, quad biking, fun karting and chairlift rides.
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