The old gaelic name of the Cairngorm mountains is Monadh Ruadh, which means “red mountains”. It is so because on a fine summer evening the setting sun seems to cast a red glow over the pink granite rock of the Cairngorms. And it should also be pointed out, that after Ben Nevis the Cairngorm Range of mountains have the highest peaks in the UK, and Cairngorm itself is the 5th highest at 1245 meters (which makes 4084 feet).

It is considered to be one of the most popular ski resorts in Scotland, located 10 miles (which makes about 16 km) east of the lively village, called Aviemore. It is also home to Scotland’s only mountain railway, as well the highest in the UK providing the main form of uplift for skiers and boarders year around, transporting them to 1097 meters in complete comfort. Moreover, Cairngorm is the longest established resort in Scotland with its 19 runs and 20 miles of pistes. The resort boomed in the middle of 1960’s, when the “Aviemore Center” – a complex of unattractive rectangular hotels and apartments was being built, which began to deteriorate in to an eyesore during the 1970s and 80s in a rapid way, and which resulted in bringing the image of the rest of Aviemore down with it. Therefore, during the last years dramatic changed too place in this area, and nowadays there is a vast array of non – ski activities available to counter the traditional problem – unpredictable weather.  Subsequent face lifts along with new leisure and accommodation conditions that have developed around the area of this resort over the recent years have sidelined the Aviemore Center and Aviemore. And now it is quite a “reborn” ski resort. Nowadays the resort is divided into several zones: the Lady Lodge Zone, the Lady Zone, the Cas Zone, the Beginner Zone and the Ciste Zone.

There is a new funicular railway, which opened in December 2001. It provides somewhat more modern, comfortable as well as reliable method of transportation, compared to the previous Car Park and White Lady Chairlifts. The length of the funicular is about 2 kilometers (which makes 1.2 miles) and its height is 1097 meters (which makes 3600 ft). It takes approximately six minutes to get to the top; however, it is slowed down during the summertime, in order to let the visitors have time to look around the beautiful scenery.

Thanks to this funicular fewer skier days will be lost because of the poor weather conditions. Instead of a former Ptarmigam Café, there is a modern building of panoramic restaurant, visitor exhibition and shop. 

The restaurant is the highest in the country, it is provided with the most spectacular views of the landscape around. Moreover, the largest snow sports school in Scotland is also located in Cairngorm, and it is the best destination for everyone, who desires to learn to improve their technique.

The first chairlift of Cairngorm was installed yet in 1961, and since that time the facilities have increased in such a way that nowadays there are 13 of the 17 original lifts and tows, which provide an uplift capacity of about 8042 skiers every hour, letting them enjoy 61, and since that time the facilities have increased in such a way that nowadays there are 13 of the 17 original lifts and tows, which provide an uplift capacity of about 8042 skiers every hour, letting them enjoy 40 km of ski runs that get extended into two adjoining carriers: Coire Cas and Coire na Ciste. Cairngorm Mountain has about 32 km pisted runs with about a third of them being designated as “beginner” areas. As for the main Beginner Zone, it is located in the Ptarmigan Bowl, right at the top of the mountain, to which there is a very easy access from the mountain railway and there is a tendency to hold snow very well, even in case if the weather conditions are marginal. In addition, there exist many challenging runs for somewhat more experienced skiers.

As for snow boarding, Cairngorm resort is committed to building, when practical, a Terrain Park for snowboarders and skiers offering jumps, rail slides and other features like that. There are four volunteers in the terrain park; these people help with its construction, maintenance as well as the users’ education. Building a terrain park does require a deep snow depth, and, Cairngorm being the exposed mountain that it is does require significant snow falls. And this is the reason why in recent years the terrain park has moved from the top of Coire Cas to the top of the Ptarmigan Bowl, the area, where the snow depth tends to be greater.

While the original chairlift took about half an hour to get to the top of the mountain, nowadays the 2 km journey takes no more than 5 minutes. Therefore, it should also be mentioned that there are several original uplifts, which are not used nowadays because of the increased capacity of the funicular railway.
Annual visitor numbers are also expected get increased from current 50,000 skiers (and summertime walkers) to about 165,000.

Resort Information
  
Resort elevation: 3599 ft
Season duration: December to April (snow dependable)
Number of lifts: 13
Number of trails: 26
Snowboarding: +
Easiest: 30%
Intermediate: 30%
Advanced: 30%
Expert: 0%

Lift Prices

Highest adult pass:	Sterling28
Highest child pass:	Sterling17

Contact Info
Address: Grampian Road Aviemore, SCT, PH22 1
Phone: 44 1479 810363
Fax: 44 1479 811063
Email: