J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by sami_glasgow

it seems like the citylink bus is the only option for a day trip from glasgow

unfortunately i cant afford to stay overnight due to time and money restrictions

plus the fact im trying for another trip a few days later! :P

RossF wrote:

sami_glasgow wrote:Hi folks,

......

Winterhighland has a lift share section on the site which is worth posting in (generally the best way to get there).

Bus to Glencoe is a dodgy one, if you miss the bus on the way back or for some reason it doesn't stop you are pretty f*cked.

Nevis is pretty easy to get to but you should probably go for a couple days to make it worth bothering. Can get a bus to Fort William from Buchanan bus station or a train from Queen Street. Book in to a local B&B and get talking to folks for a lift/pay for a taxi. (About 6 miles by road from centre of Fort William).

Not so sure about public transport to the other resorts but day tripping makes things very difficult.

If you are getting a lift Nevis or the Coe are your best (and closest) resorts to Glasgow. My favourite is GLencoe.

Cool the winterhighland forum looks useful a lift would be ideal.....I can appreciate relying on a bus isnt lol

Im not sure about a night in a B&B, on a bit of a tight budget.

Cheers Ross.

Hi folks,

So after my first trip with Dave aka RustyInn, my ski cravings have reached an all time high! Made a visit to Snozone at the weekend which was a bit of a frustating experience - people falling off the tow - staff leaving them to get up and out the way (or try to) unaided - and trying to get a decent amount of speed on the slope.

Anyway, I've been planning to make a few trips to our good old mountains - I had an amazing day at Cairngorm during Easter 08 - a heavy blizzard in the morning followed by sun, blue skies and no wind (!!!) in the afternoon.

So...the reason for the thread is that I currently don't drive, neither does the other half. I've been looking into the public transport option (easier than coordinating a trip with my friend who drives and his girlfriend) and I'm consider either Glencoe, Nevis Range or CairnGorm for a day trip from Glasgow for Valentines day (my girlfiend is ski crazy aswell but not as much as me).

All 3 resorts are reachable by coach and/or train, but I think Nevis and CairnGorm require a connecting bus to and from the train/bus station.

Does anyone have any advice / experiences to share? Id like 2 know if any one of these resorts is easier to get to (Glencoe is 30mins quicker by coach) and also stuff like experiences with the local busses to get to and from the mountain.

Thank you all,

Sami

Some very good points overall. I wish I had all this information when I went on my first trip, but it was about a month ago an early in the season so perhaps peoples minds were not in ski mode.

Lynn_D wrote:One other thing that caught me out last year, was trying to put my skis back on after a fall and not realising that my bindings were still closed (not sure of the correct term...???)
So, if you can't get your skis back on, this could very well be the reason :D

Yes.

Notice when you clip into your skis, the back part of the binding pops up, to lock your boots in. When you take your boot off, you push this bit down.

After a fall, first make sure this back part is pushed down (it takes quite a push if your tired), if its not - push it down until it clicks (easiest acheived by standing on it in my experience).

If you dont do that the boot will never click into place. So, always check, it could save some time and energy.

I prefer to ski witha rucksack, well not coz the skiing is better but theres so many useful things to carry:

Water.
Fruit juice (sugar can ne nice but beware of carrying fizzy juice!)
Snickers (chocolate and peanuts for energy)
Cereal bars
A small flask with a hot drink / cuppa soup (stays hot/warm for hours!)
sandwiches (save a fortune on lunch)
goggles
sunglasses
extra layer of clothing / scarf / neck thing

cant think of anything else. seemed like more at the time

travel wash for your thermals

off the slopes: BOOTS to walk around in.

on the slopes: snickers bars and water

When I was in courchevel im sure the signs had the run name and the number indicating the distance left....

perhaps if you convince her to every try skiing again she could have a private lesson on the mountain?

my girlfriend was a bit pannicky at first and we had a similar "walk down" moment on a steep part of a slope but the instructor managed to help her progress at the right rate and after 2x2hr lessons her confidence was through the roof (much to my delight!) even got her down a black run without falling or traversing too much!