An unexpected bonus for Glenshee’s snow sports school

Jan 19 2010 Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

THE premature start to the ski season caught Glenshee’s snow sports school on the hop.

Typically the season starts mid-January, but with a pre-Christmas bumper snowfall creating pristine conditions on the slopes, school boss and ex-Royal Marines commando, Darren Morgan, had to spring into action.

“We operate using up to 20 local, freelance instructors, so when the snow arrived four weeks ahead of schedule it proved incredibly difficult to source enough instructors to cope over the Christmas and New Year period,” Mr Morgan (43) said.

“Ironically many of our instructors were already committed over in the Alps where at one resort there was no snow! People here are saying it’s the best conditions they’ve seen in 20 years. Last week, with the blue skies and fresh snow, it was just like being in the Alps.”

After a 2004 demob from the marines following a 21-year career, Mr Morgan – a qualified mountaineering instructor who has led expeditions worldwide – and his wife Tereza bought Spittal of Glenshee hostel, Gulabin Lodge.

Two years later, under the banner, Cairnwell Mountain Sports, the enterprising duo also took over the Glenshee Ski Centre’s snow sports school, where 80 per cent of the business is beginner snowboarders or skiers.

Glenshee itself, spread across four mountains with 21 lifts – two chairlifts, 16 pomas and three bars – when all runs are operational, is Scotland’s largest ski area, accessed via the UK’s highest main road, the A93, which at its Cairnwell Pass summit, reaches 2182ft.

Unsurprisingly the route can prove treacherous in winter, especially for conventional vehicles, but according to Mr Morgan, even the most atrocious conditions fail to put too large a dent in the centre’s patronage.

“On days where the driving conditions were really challenging, we still had about 1,500 people turn up, so the council really does a terrific job of keeping the road open,” he said.

“It’s been absolutely phenomenal, thousands of people coming through the recent holiday season, and on the basis of lift passes sold, up to 4,000 per day, and that doesn’t include sledgers and tourists using the cafe.

“At the school we get between 250 and 300 people a day, mostly school kids, and at the weekends, we get a lot of people from the central belt, Glasgow and Edinburgh, and England.”

Considering Scotland’s unpredictable weather, Mr Morgan was understandably reluctant to predict a longer than usual ski season but recalled his first season (2006-07) running the school when the snow lasted until April 14.

“You never know what’s around the corner in Scotland weather-wise so you really just have to make snow as the sun shines,” he said.

Absolute beginners can hit the slopes with a beginners introductory day package. Cost: adult, £50/under-16, £36.50, for a 90-minute group lesson. Includes snowboard/boots or skis/poles/boots, plus a beginners’ area lift pass. Contact the school on 013397 41010.