I would question whether or not the statement “uplift has not been used for some considerable time” is completely true, given that CairnGorm Mountain Limited have been using the Coire na Ciste chairlifts for operational purposes, such as to aid in transportation of staff and materials.

It is most certainly not a lack of snow causing these lifts to be disused, but operational decisions to favour Coire Cas facilities. These decisions have hastened the disuse of Coire na Ciste infrastructure, and added further strain on the already over-crowded Coire Cas ski area.

This has created situations where customers are subjected to unacceptably large queues – first for a lift pass (which would be halved if the facilities still existed in Coire na Ciste), and then to get onto their first lift of the day (again, the queues would not be nearly so large if the Coire na Ciste Chairlift was in operation; two regular shuttle buses also wouldn’t be necessary).

At peak times last winter, some friends were forced to stand and wait in Coire Cas for over an hour – not including their wait for the shuttle bus from Coire na Ciste. Can this be considered acceptable? Is it any surprise that many are now skiing elsewhere?

I believe that Bob Kinnaird’s statement that “In the recent past, it has been queuing for tickets, and not for uplift facilities, that has caused customer service problems at Cairngorm” is not entirely true.

I note that the Coire na Ciste Base Station is planned to be removed. Up until recent years, before the Ciste base station fell into disuse, ticket queues in Coire Cas were not nearly as bad, as the queues were spread out over two areas and so were effectively halved.

I believe that now that tickets are only sold in Coire Cas, this is the reason for the unacceptable queueing lengths and times. If tickets were sold in Coire na Ciste base station, the strain on the Coire Cas ticket facilities would be greatly eased.

I fail to understand why tickets are no longer sold in Coire na Ciste, since crowds of people are still forced to stand beside the disused building waiting for the shuttle bus to Coire Cas. These queues can also be unacceptably large at peak times, and I myself had to wait over 20 minutes for the bus.

The removal of the Ciste base station will create a situation where there will be a lack of fundamental human services as basic as toilet facilities. Is this acceptable in this modern world? Surely this should not be an optional amenity. If people don’t use the mountain side, they then get to Coire Cas and put further strain on the already crowded facilities there.

I would also be interested to know the cost of running the two shuttle buses regularly all day to transport skiers from Coire na Ciste to Coire Cas, compared to the cost of running the Ciste chairlift for a day?

Apart from anything else, people would much rather just get onto a lift, having waited in a shorter ticket queue, than wait for a shuttle bus, then wait in larger queues in Coire Cas. Is there perhaps more to this than what makes 'economic sense’?

Regarding Mr Kinnaird’s statement that these Coire na Ciste lifts are “old and outdated” – I note that he is not stating the fact that the two Ciste chairlifts were built by GMD Mueller – the same company that manufacturered the Ptarmigan T-Bar, Coire na Ciste T-Bar, White Lady T-Bar, Coire Cas T-Bar, Fiacaill T-Bar, Carpark T-Bar and Shieling Platter Lift.

As these lifts (with the exception of the Fiacaill T-Bar and Ciste chairlifts) are still set to operate, perhaps it is a case of the operators’ attitude to these particular Coire na Ciste lifts that is seeing them fall into disuse?

I would question the argument about 'lack of spare parts’ for the Coire na Ciste chairlifts being a valid one, since I myself managed to source spare Mueller parts on the Internet within a matter of five minutes.

Furthermore, spare parts from some modern chairlifts can also be used on these lifts. I believe that it is not a case of these lifts being unable to be used, and more a case that the operator does not want to use them.

I disagree with the claim that this lift infrastructure is “redundant”. Last winter, the Ciste chairlift was used to swiftly evacuate ski casualties by ski patrol. These casualties would otherwise have had to be transported out by other means, creating an unacceptable situation in which the victims were subjected to delays and perhaps a longer and more uncomfortable trip.

I believe that the West Wall Poma is incapable of serving the whole Coire na Ciste area, as experts have to cut short their runs just to get back to the foot of the lift, often at a clear inconvenience to themselves, as areas of hillside have to be used that perhaps have less snow on them and were never intended to be part of ski runs. As such, ski edges greatly damage fragile areas of exposed vegetation.

The Poma is also reliant on snow on the uptrack, and Coire na Ciste is well known for holding snow in the main gully and Wall lines well into the spring – times when the uptrack loses its snow cover quickly.

With the West Wall chairlift in operation, this is not an issue, as it does not need surface cover in order to operate, and so with the chairlifts Coire na Ciste would be able to offer snowsports for longer.

With health and safety laws being strongly enforced, if the chairlifts were to be removed, could a situation be created where, with the West Wall Poma set to become the only lift in Coire na Ciste, it would become technically 'unsafe’ to operate this lift, as there is no other way out of the coire if there is a mechanical fault? Can it be considered acceptable to let such a situation be created?

With the quickly changing conditions in the Cairngorms, and the only exit (without the Ciste chairlift) being uphill, is it acceptable only to have the West Wall Poma operating?

The Ciste chairlift at least is required, to create a safety margin for customers, otherwise, are we facing the possibility of a total end to snowsports in Coire na Ciste?

On a more personal level, Coire na Ciste is the only reason that I ski on CairnGorm. I do have a season pass for CairnGorm next winter, but if we found ourselves without the Ciste chairlifts, and a compromise on infrastructure there, in future years I and many others will not hesitate to ski elsewhere. – Yours etc,

JAMIE JOHNSTON, 23 Macleod Road, Balloch, Inverness IV2 7JW.

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