Author: Ski-Allenheads

There is some snow forecast for tomorrow and it seems there may be enough to open and run the tows. The timing of the snow is unclear but it may be possible to open tomorrow afternoon or, more likely, on Saturday. Once we know how things are, I’ll update.

Today started off well with 10 – 15cms of powder but the snow gradually reduced and became patchy as the drizzle took over. Ran A tow until about 3.00pm then the few remaining agreed to call it a day.

Given the drizzle is continuing overnight and the temperature is expected to stay above zero, there won’t be enough snow to allow us to open tomorrow. Still a few weeks of the season, so hopefully we will get more snow before the end of March.

There’s about 10 – 15cms snow on the field and we’re ready to run the tows now. Its breezy but still very cold and should stay cold all day, albeit with some sleet.

The road from Allendale to Allenheads is open and the snowplough has been up and down so access is ok but there is still some snow on the road so care is needed. You will need a shovel to clear a parking place!

Don’t forget that the Hemmel cafe is closed so there is no access to food or toilets in Allenheads.

The snow is now falling and more is expected overnight so there should be a good covering by the morning. We will look to open sometime between 10.00 and 11.00am but precise time unclear until we get a chance to check the slope and confirm the roads are open – some uncertainty as there will have been drifting as very strong winds are expected overnight.

I’ll send out another email tomorrow morning when our opening time is clearer.

Couple of warnings:

• Please take a shovel as you may well have to dig yourself a parking space.
• The Hemmel cafe is closed as are the public toilets so there is no food and no toilets in the village. The nearest food and toilets are in Allendale Town.

I’d hope the snow will last into Saturday but will update tomorrow evening when we see the conditions.

The snow has started but there won’t be enough to open today. Will update later about tomorrow.

The forecast has changed and the snow is now due today rather than this evening. It has now just started to snow so there is not yet enough cover to open but it may be possible to open later today and/or tomorrow. Unfortunately the temperature rises tomorrow so conditions for Saturday are unpredictable. 

Will update later this morning.

You may have seen the weather warnings for snow tomorrow and Friday and its looking increasingly likely that we will have a reasonable dump with perhaps more over the weekend. Another bit of good weather news is that there should be a frost between now and the snowfall, increasing the chances of it lying.

Our thoughts based on today’s forecast, are that we might be able to open on Friday if access to Allenheads is open and there are volunteers able to get to Allenheads to run the tows. We’ll email an update on Thursday and, after that,  whenever conditions change.

We’ve checked the field and I’m afraid its disappointing news as there is not enough snow to open. Too little snow and too much grass and insufficient cover to run the tows. The ground will stay hard and frozen but no more snow is forecast so I think we will have to wait until the next cold spell arrives, hopefully soon.

There’s been no more snow overnight so not sure what the conditions are like. The ground will be frozen and slippy so a thin cover of snow will be enough for us to open but we need to check it out before being sure. We plan to confirm conditions by 10.00am and will update then.

After all of the warnings about the weather, its still impossible to predict if we will have enough snow to let us open tomorrow. More snow is forecast for this evening so conditions may be ok but we won’t know until tomorrow morning. We’ll make an assessment by about 9.00am but may still be unsure until we can check out the field ourselves, which won’t be until about 10.30am.

As we find out more, we’ll update