Our favourite Scottish resort and the one we go to most often. It feels alpine in comparison to the others many ways and with the Back Corries it has arguably the best inbounds off piste of any resort in Scotland, on it's day the Back Corries rival anywhere.
Nevis Range Lifts
Nevis Range has the UK's only mountain gondola to take you from the car park to the top station which I am pretty sure I read in Ian Sykes book is the lowest gondola station height for any resort in the world (will have to check that!). Its pretty fast and an experience year round.
The skiing is over three faces of the north side of Aonach Mhor. Beside the top station there is a beginner area with two buttons and a rope tow. The main area, around the Goose Gully is accessed via a ski down from the top of the Alpha button tow (called this because it looks like a goose when the snow melts), this area has the most uplift with a long T-bar and to the far side a 4 man chair. This area tends to hold the most snow. The summit runs can be accessed via a poma from the top of the Goose t-bar.
The face directly in front of you when leaving the top station is accessed via Warrens T-bar which often isn't running or via the summit poma. These runs are great in good snow.
The Back Corries and Corrie Dubh are accessed via the Summit Poma, a backcountry inbounds area accessed via a drop in over a usually corniced edge, the Ski Patrol usually have good info on what these cornices are like both in the top gondola station and beside the Summit Poma. Within Corrie Dubh lies the Braveheart chair that when running allows you to lap all the snow blown in from the other side of the hill, one of our favourite chairlifts in the world. To get back round you traverse back round the side of the hill and ski round or jump on the Great Glen chair when it's running. There is a T-bar beside a usually quieter beginner area beside the Great Glen Chair return.
Nevis Range Best Runs
As with any Scottish ski hill the runs are very snow dependent but generally the Back Corries holds snow all season and is as good as anywhere when the snow is in, even better when the Braveheart Chair is running so that it can be lapped. The Back Corries are brilliant. Warrens and Flight are also great runs from the summit but need good snow cover.
The real golden goose for Nevis is when there is enough snow to ski from the summit past the top station and all the way down to the car park, a vertical drop of 1121m. We have only managed to get there on a day that you could do this once, but it was one of the best ski days we have ever had. Untracked powder from top to the bottom, absolutely epic.
Nevis Range has the UK's only mountain gondola to take you from the car park to the top station which I am pretty sure I read in Ian Sykes book is the lowest gondola station height for any resort in the world (will have to check that!). Its pretty fast and an experience year round.
The skiing is over three faces of the north side of Aonach Mhor. Beside the top station there is a beginner area with two buttons and a rope tow. The main area, around the Goose Gully is accessed via a ski down from the top of the Alpha button tow (called this because it looks like a goose when the snow melts), this area has the most uplift with a long T-bar and to the far side a 4 man chair. This area tends to hold the most snow. The summit runs can be accessed via a poma from the top of the Goose t-bar.
The face directly in front of you when leaving the top station is accessed via Warrens T-bar which often isn't running or via the summit poma. These runs are great in good snow.
The Back Corries and Corrie Dubh are accessed via the Summit Poma, a backcountry inbounds area accessed via a drop in over a usually corniced edge, the Ski Patrol usually have good info on what these cornices are like both in the top gondola station and beside the Summit Poma. Within Corrie Dubh lies the Braveheart chair that when running allows you to lap all the snow blown in from the other side of the hill, one of our favourite chairlifts in the world. To get back round you traverse back round the side of the hill and ski round or jump on the Great Glen chair when it's running. There is a T-bar beside a usually quieter beginner area beside the Great Glen Chair return.
Nevis Range Best Runs
As with any Scottish ski hill the runs are very snow dependent but generally the Back Corries holds snow all season and is as good as anywhere when the snow is in, even better when the Braveheart Chair is running so that it can be lapped. The Back Corries are brilliant. Warrens and Flight are also great runs from the summit but need good snow cover.
The real golden goose for Nevis is when there is enough snow to ski from the summit past the top station and all the way down to the car park, a vertical drop of 1121m. We have only managed to get there on a day that you could do this once, but it was one of the best ski days we have ever had. Untracked powder from top to the bottom, absolutely epic.
Nevis Range Overall
Great views, holds a good amount of snow, feels alpine, decent lift system, doesn't often feel crowded and has the best lift served off piste area of any Scottish ski hill. A comfortable favourite for us.
Great views, holds a good amount of snow, feels alpine, decent lift system, doesn't often feel crowded and has the best lift served off piste area of any Scottish ski hill. A comfortable favourite for us.