£1 million snow kit on course for resort
THE findings into the safety of the £20 million Cairngorm funicular have been delayed but there is finally some welcome news for the resort.
Snow-making equipment worth £1 million including a Snow Factory and eight snow cannons are due to arrive at the attraction next Tuesday.
Resort owners Highlands and Islands Enterprise have said the equipment should be fully operational within a week of arriving.
Snow-making will guarantee snow on the lower beginner slopes, and enable the ski tow to take skiers to the upper slopes when conditions there are good.
HIE's head of business development Susan Smith said: "The efforts we and other members of the funicular response group are making will ensure the best possible snowsports experience on Cairngorm this winter.
"Snow-making will play a major part in those efforts, along with various promotional activities planned in the coming weeks to promote the Aviemore area – including CairnGorm Mountain – as a fantastic destination for visitors."
The latest meeting of the group was on Monday when those in attendance were also informed of the potential delay of a fortnight for the findings into safety concerns that forced the mountain railway to close at the end of September.
Specialist engineering contractors investigating concerns over the supporting structure of the funicular alerted HIE and CairnGorm Mountain Limited to the setback earlier this week.
COWI was appointed by HIE and CML to carry out the investigation which has involved excavation of some of the foundations.
They informed the organisations that weather – particularly strong winds and cold temperatures – had hampered their progress.
While they still aim to share initial findings on December 3 as planned, it could yet take up to a further two weeks to complete their final report.
Ms Smith said: "This is disappointing of course. The closure of the funicular, while necessary for safety reason, is causing considerable concern locally among the many businesses who service the snowsports market.
"The sooner we find out the exact nature of the problem the better for everyone.
"We will then be able to plan for remedial work to be done to return the funicular to service as soon as possible."
