Badenoch and Strathspey hopes to become Mecca for Nordic skiers
The UK’s first crosscountry piste machine is gearing up to make winter tracks through the forests around Loch Morlich following the arrival of snow.
The Bombardier piste machine was brought to the strath 18 months ago by Nordic ski fan Bill Wilson, owner of the Glenmore Shop.
It cuts through the snow to make perfect cross country ski tracks or "loipe" for the skiers to glide along with ease.
Thanks to the heavy snowfall in the strath over the last two winters, tourism bosses have said cross-country skiing has enjoyed a real resurgence. Now a chairty has been set up to help promote the sport and bring more Nordic ski visitors to the area.
Mr Bob Kinnaird, secretary of the Glenmore Piste Charity, said: "It is fantastic to have such an impressive machine at our disposal which easily cuts through the snow to make wonderful tracks for the skiers.
"However, like anything we have had to look at the long term funding to keep the machine going in terms of fuel, maintenance, repairs and depreciation.
"Our charity objective is to promote the advancement of amateur sport and health by encouraging cross-country skiing through the creation of professional ski tracks, accessible to all cross-country skiers when snow conditions allow, but to be able to do this successfully we are asking for support from the public.
"Everyone who works with the Glenmore Piste Charity does so on a volunteer basis, the money we raise is to simply keep the machine going throughout the winter months so that we can all enjoy the tracks and the stunning surrounding area of the Cairngorms National Park."
Mr Wilson bought the £30,000 machine out of his own pocket and took delivery of the second-hand Bombardier from the Austrian city of Innsbruck in mid- August, last year.
He said that it generally takes two hours to create around 15 miles of cross-country ski tracks. The machine leaves two grooves in the snow for cross-country skiers to use.
Mr Alan Rankin, Chief Executive of Visit Cairngorms, has said that the sport is booming.
He commented: "As well as welcoming an increased number of downhill skiers and boarders to the slopes of our three ski resorts in the Cairngorms National Park, we have seen a massive increase in cross-country or Nordic skiing.
"The forest tracks around Glenmore are perfect to explore on skis and the pisting machine simply makes the exploration of this area so much easier.
"Considering the machine was bought by a group of local enthusiasts of the sport, just goes to show how much people value and enjoy cross-country skiing up here."
Scandinavian resorts often boast hundreds of kilometres of prepared tracks, winding through forest and over Fjell. Many parts of the Alpine resorts provide a similar scene with machine prepared tracks offering easy family skiing away from the downhill pistes.
Last winter up to 25km of tracks could be skied in Glenmore by anyone and all for free of charge. It is hoped that this year, weather dependent, there will be even more tracks to enjoy.
The Glenmore Piste Charity is welcoming new members. Individual membership is £10 for one year or family membership (any size family) is £20 for one year.
Membership of the charity is not needed to use the tracks created but contributions to the running costs are welcome at the Glenmore Shop and Café.
