Snowsports fans get some late Christmas skiing at CairnGorm Mountain
Over 700 skiers and boarders took to the slopes at CairnGorm on Boxing Day.
A mixture of local people, season ticket holders and holidaymakers of all ages took advantage of a weather window to get onto the pistes.
Staff had been working hard since the early hours to get the road open and the snowdrifts on the track and the tunnel mouth cleared following the storms of the last few days which prevented the resort opening.
The bad weather had resulted in power cuts and in tows having their ropes blown off as well as wind driving the snow onto the snow fences.
However, the team at CairnGorm were able to provide a top to bottom run on the Coire Cas side of the mountain yesterday with uplift using the funicular from mid-morning.
The Fiacaill Ridge poma and the Coire cas t-bar opened from mid-afternoon alleviating some of the pressure on the funicular.
It is hoped that most uplift will be available for the weekend.
CairnGorm Mountain Marketing Manager Colin Kirkwood said: "It was a relief to be able to provide some snowsports for our customers at last as we know that they have been as frustrated as we have been by the weather in recent days.
"With snow falling heavily all over the mountain in the run-up to Christmas and large numbers of people descending on the area for their festive break it was very disappointing that winds gusting up to 100mph prevented them - and sometimes even our own staff - from accessing the mountain and opening for snowsports until Boxing Day."
He added: "Our hire department was in great demand and many purchasers of season tickets came up to collect them and enjoy their first slide of the season.
"We also stayed open a little later than usual to enable visitors to make the most of the conditions and our recently re-vamped hire department was in great demand."
Last season more than 113,000 skiers and boarders visited CairnGorm Mountain between the start of December 2012 and May 19.
