Travel

Tony Clayton-Lea headed for the highlands and was seduced by the idea of skiing in Scotland.

Ski Scotland

It's a novel notion, but more and more people are allowing themselves to be seduced by the idea of skiing in Scotland. The advantages are obvious: proximity to Ireland, savings in travel expenses, and the added bonus of (Highland brogues and dialects notwithstanding) no language barriers. Also - ponder on some of the main characteristics of the Scottish Highlands and you're bound to come up with at least two that are connected with skiing – mountains and snow.

It's hardly a shock, then, that enterprising business folk should have added both lift systems and groomed pistes to the chilly equation, thereby guaranteeing themselves a relatively self-sufficient proposition and no small degree of winter fun. This is not to suggest that experienced skiiers should abandon their wellplanned fortnight's holiday in the Alps in favour of Scotland. That's not the point.

The point is that Scotland is effectively on your doorstep, so if you're an absolute beginner who wishes to learn the basics without spending too much money, or if you simply wish to brush up on a few hair-raising techniques prior to throwing shapes on death-defying Alpine slopes, then you should try any one of Scotland's five ski and snowboard resorts.

Generally, you can divide the resorts in three ways. The first is the difference between the larger, somewhat more ambitious areas of the Cairngorm, Nevis Range and Glenshee, and the more unassuming resorts of Glencoe and the Lecht. The second is geographical. The eastern resorts of Cairngorm, Glenshee, and the Lecht are best accessed from Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and Edinburgh. Nevis Range and Glencoe are in the western Highlands and are more easily reached from Glasgow.

The third, and most important aspect of choice of resort, is the weather. Wherever you go, you are advised to check ahead for a snow report. Regular skiers and snowboarders to the regions will tell you that the resorts don't have a climate, they have weather. This means that the snow can come and go with varying weather systems. The resort we chose was the Lecht, which covers the smallest area of all five of the resorts - a huge snowfall is, therefore, not crucial. Broadly speaking, the most dependable snow is in February and March, although the season can often start as early as November and run through to May.

The Lecht resort suits the beginner down to the ground. Just over 100 miles from Edinburgh (125 from Glasgow), and a mere six miles from our base in Tomintoul, the Lecht is usually the first resort to open each winter. It is Scotland's premier family ski area, providing excellent facilities (including ski equipment and garment hire) for all abilities.

So how did we do? Well, given that we had no skiing experience whatsoever, we were as good as aspirant beginners can be. For the novice, 2-3 days is a perfect duration to find out if you want to invest more of your money, effort and time on the sport.

There were aspects to the experience that proved salutary, though: unless you're a very quick learner, you will benefit from more than just a basic lesson or two. It's a thrilling sport, but it's also potentially dangerous, and you'd be a fool if you thought you had mastered the fundamentals in just a couple of days (the memory of whizzing down the intermediate slope praying that no one got in my way will haunt me to my deathbed). Mind you, you'll have a great time. As we did.

Skiing? It's scary, but very, very satisfying.