Aviemore businesses "praying for snow"

CairnGorm Mountain bosses are keeping "everything crossed" for more snow after a sluggish start to the season.

The forecast is for the weather to get colder again this weekend, which it is hoped will herald many more snow days.

The centre chiefs are desperate for more of the while stuff to attract customers after the slow start to the season, particularly compared to the two previous excellent seasons.

A similar sentiment is being shared by businesses in the strath who usually benefit from the influx of thousands of skiers and snowboarders at this time of year.

Alex Burns-Smith, chairman of Aviemore Business Association, said: "We are just praying for snow. No-one expected it to be so mild after the last couple of winters here.

"Hopefully going into the weekend we can get a good dump of snow that will be enough for half term."

Mr Jonathan Gatenby, owner of the Ravenscraig Guest House in Aviemore, commented: "We would all like to see buckets of snow up there.

"We have been very spoiled with the snow that has fallen over the last three winters, and it would be very nice to get some back again"

"All local businesses appreciate what a dump of snow could do for the area, but it’s really in the hands of the gods.

He added that while hillwalkers, mountain bikers and general tourists helped make up the shortfall of skiers and snowboarders, it did not replace them.

Jean Brannan, landlady of Mackenzies Highland Inn, said: "Everybody in Aviemore is praying for snow.

"I think business in the village has suffered drastically because we haven’t had a real dump of snow at the ski centre."

Alan Rankin, chief executive of the Cairngorms Business Partnership, said as with any tourism destinations in the world, the weather plays a big part in trade.

However, he added: "The great thing about this area is that no matter what the weather, there is an activity, attraction, café or restaurant that will give the visitor a first class experience.

"The delay in the snow this year has, for many snowsports enthusiasts, been disappointing, but we would not rule the season out yet."

So far there has been 13,312 ski visitors this season.

The resort gave away 50 free beginner ski or snowboard lessons at the weekend, including equipment hire and ski ticket, as part of a competition to mark Snow Day which had been designated by the Federation International de Ski.

Previously, the last time the then Cairngorm Chairlift Company had two such consecutive seasons was in 1994-95, when 211,000 people took to the slopes, and 1995-96, when the figure was 187,000.

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