Author: Ski-Allenheads

There has been no fresh snow since we checked the field yesterday. I’m afraid that overnight, we have changed our mind about opening as we feel conditions will be too difficult and will be dangerous. Although its ok to ski over small patches of frozen grass, too much of the field is grass to allow a controlled run, especially with significant patches of ice. Sorry if I’d got your hopes up. We must now wait for a fresh snowfall.

We thought yesterday’s snow was too thin to ski on, however it has stayed in place. It is very thin with some patches of old ice but the grass is frozen so it is skiable. Not as normal conditions but ok to have some fun on for a while. If the snow stays overnight as it is forecasted, we’ll open tomorrow at about 10.00am and run whilst skiable, probably not beyond lunchtime

We thought yesterday’s snow was too thin to ski on, however it has stayed in place and the field is fully covered so we’re going to see what conditions are actually like and we may open this afternoon or tomorrow. I’ll update around 12.30.

There’s been 2 cms of fresh snow which looks nice but is too thin to ski so we won’t open today. Maybe later in the week but not at the weekend as will be too warm.

Opened today at 9.30 and closed at 13.00 – the weather forecast was correct. A couple of cms of fresh snow was slow and sticky at first but the runs improved as it firmed down. However the thaw started as we opened and by the time we closed the mix of rain, sleet and snow made for a soggy sport.

Impossible to predict how things will go this week as we need fresh snow and colder weather to open. No skiing tomorrow, Monday, but possibilities later in the work. Will update if conditions change.

A bit of fresh snow so we will open today at about 9.30. Forecast is for Some sleet showers then rain around lunchtime so we will probably close around 12.30 / 1.00pm but could well be good until then.
Hemmel cafe will be open.

An excellent day today – sunshine, cold air & warm sun, a lot of brilliant snow, some icy bits and the odd bare bit.

Some more snow is forecast overnight and that will freshen the surface but the temperature will rise in the morning and the snow turn to light rain. I suspect conditions will be ok for skiing in the morning but we’ll check and update around 9.00am. It may be possible to open in the morning but close after lunch if conditions deteriorate too much.

The temperature rises a bit on Monday but there may be more snow so, if a lot of the existing cover stays, we may well open on Tuesday. Half term pancake races perhaps?

A good day today on about 10cms of snow, just a pity that the ground underneath was very wet but most of the field has held up well.There will be a sharp frost tonight so the snow and ground underneath will freeze and conditions should remain pretty good, although rather hard and icy first thing. We didn’t run B tow today so that side of the field is in perfect condition. We’ve put the matting down across the wet stretch of ground near the bottom of A tow so the runs down A tow should remain good all day although we will need some help to shovel snow onto the tow track. We’ll run the tows from about 10.15.
If you come tomorrow, please park carefully and make sure access for buses is clear. As well as the parking near the field, there is a large car park in the village opposite the pub.
The Hemmel Cafe was closed today but I expect it will be open tomorrow.
Today the tow rope was very wet and slippy and will probably be similar tomorrow so expect to need gloves with a good grip, especially in the morning.
All access roads were clear today so should be fine tomorrow.

The road to Allenheads from Allendale is open and the bus has got through so conditions must be ok. I don’t know about access from Weardale or Rookhope. We’ll open by 2.00pm and, assuming conditions ok, will run tows until 4.30/5.00pm.

There is a covering of snow, probably enough to ski on, but its still snowing and road conditions are very dodgy – buses not getting to Allenheads. Tomorrow is looking very promising – sunshine and cold so we want to keep snow until then. Current plan is to open today around 2.00pm, if access is ok. I’ll update later this morning, around 11.30, to confirm.