Snowboarding in the Scottish Mountains

Snowboarding in the Scottish Mountains

Well.. They say there’s a first time for everything. But Snowboarding….. Fuck? Something very different.

And I found that out the hard way. But had fun along the way. Here I am again to tell you all about it.

Winter.

2025.

Started the mood the night before after finishing work. Popped down to the Korean Burrito takeaway called “Korrito”. For the Firecracker chicken and Bao Buns. Spice and Fire!

Got a train very early in the morning out of Glasgow to Pitlochry. Still dark. Old mates from down south were picking me up there. Brothers. Ali and Jim. Jumped in their Toyota Rav 4 Jeep at 9am.

So good to see the guys. Been a year since seen Ali and god knows how many years since i’d seen his brother Jim. Pals from back in the day in Devon.

We headed north into the mountains. These boys had arrived 2 days earlier and had already got snowboarding in on both of them.

Chatted to the boys and an hour later we arrived at the resort.

First impressions; it was scarcely believable that there was this much snow anywhere in the UK.

Got changed into the gear in the car. Key part of the “ski-bum” lifestyle they told me!

So we got the boards and helmets from the equipment hut. Damp place. Picked up a board with Ali’s help.

Got all setup on the beginners patch at the bottom. Training wheels and armbands very much on!

So Ali started to talk me though it. He knows his shit, teaches snowboarding in Bulgaria and trained as an instructor in Canada.

I needed to push forward on my toes to slow down and lift them up to go faster.

And they can definitely shift if you let them. And you can end up on your arse, which off course i did.

We moved to the beginners run that you can see in the picture above with a basic a ski-lift at the bottom where you queue.

Was falling off this every time. A Jerry clear as day. A new word i learnt meaning a Snowboarding Noob! But having fun!

We all met up again for lunch at the cafe of the resort. You need the fuel to keep going. Hot Curry and a drink. Needed

We then got back at it. Tried a real run. I was falling off the ski lift again and had to go back to the toddlers section! It really is hard. Much harder than it looks. I know people say that about a lot of things, but when it means falling over a lot and hurting yourself then you feel that.

Was able to pick up speed when i lifted my toes up, but had no control whatsoever. Slipping and sliding on my arse.

I was a “gerry”, which the guys told me was a “noob” lol (novice Snowboarder).

Ali then took me for a ride on one of the chair lifts. Great fun. and you get a decent view of the full complex below:

https://www.ski-glenshee.co.uk/Winter

Managed to exit the chair lift standing, which was my biggest win of the day.

Another fact to note, is there are many more Skiers than Snowboarders. But the guys said that there was a higher ratio of Snowboarders compared to Skiers in this resort than any they had been to.

Other things your not told on top of that is you need to keep adjusting your Ski Goggles to keep the snow and moisture out your eyes. And just how cold it is (this is in Scotland, let alone bigger resorts abroad). But this sounds like moaning and thats not right. Blessed to be doing this.

Managed to navigate the junior ski-lift successfully by the end of the afternoon. Funny how a lot things like this you do better when you put less effort in and just naturally go with it.

Beginners Training Slope

Met the guys at the close of the day, back to the cafe for a beer as the light faded.

Took our equipment back to the shed then Ali drove us down to the village of Braemar where our hostel was. Very old-school rural Scotland. Clothes straight off and in the dry room. Shower.

Then for a pub dinner. Pints, Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. Covered in Whiskey sauce. Mine was Veggie. Just what the doctor. Jim Headed home, my and Ali went to another pub. Treated myself to a nice Rum and Apple. Then back to the hostel and bed.

We woke early. Breakfast of toast and cereal. Clothes dry and back on, in the jeep and we go again…

Got the gear and continued at the beginners slope. Needed to get going again. The falling on your arse wakes you up. Deja vu!

Found there were 2 sides to this: The adrenaline fuelled, big rush / this is fun side and the shit.. im shit at this and tired.. this is the hard-work side.

Spent some more time on the most basic ski-lift – went fine.

Go onto the level 2 one: longer, higher and steeper. But still basic off course.

Was good making progress. But kept bailing at a tricky hump close to the end. Took me a good 2 hours to crack it actually.

In the meantime, Ali and Jim had covered most of the runs in the resort between them.

Lunch: Back to the cafe. Had Burger an Chips with an early bottle of Peroni. Bad idea? Time would tell.

We re-joined each other for the afternoon’s snowboarding. Here’s Ali with a super smooth land off the ski lift!:

Ski-Lift

Then I had a sketchy moment; where I nearly crashed into someone. East to do, but doesn’t make you mr popular.

Ali took me 1-1 again for some to help get the balance and footwork going downhill and picking up speed. Did result in one total wipeout! Laughed it off as came off unscathed. But he warned me after.

That was Saturday and day 2’s snowboarding done.

We had another beer at the cafe, then back in the jeep to the hostel in Braemar.

Stripped, showered, phoned the families, chilled on the beds for a bit, then out the door on the hunt for scran.

Found a big local pub. Classic homely winter pub grub style. The Fife Arms, soon worked out that it was actually a 5 star hotel aswell.

Colourful Lighting Decor – at The Fife Arms

The food was just what we needed. The guys had steaks. I had a cottish pie an mash with gravy. Washed down with few pints. We had a whisky at the bar and the barman shared his knowledge with a few funny stories on top.

There was a cocktail bar in the hotel aswell. I had an old fashioned. The other guys were recommended something exotic by the bartender 🍸 (sharply dressed chap btw). Taste sensations. Then we were done ✔️. And bed.

Sunday was the last day of snowboarding. Woke with a sore arse and legs. Breakfast, clobber on and back up the hills.

The day started with me warming up on the training slope again. Then by breaking the binding on my board from a slide; so I had to get another from the board hut.

“You must be an aggressive boarder” the dude said. Pride an ego boosted.

The new board felt fast. Took similar getting used to, just like when you jump behind the wheel of a different car. There was a band on my left wrist to protect my forearm where I’d had a medical procedure. Definitely needed it, as breaking falls is rough on the wrists.

The energy levels were starting to go badly by this point. Heavy legs. One of the lifties (works on the ski-lift) asked me if I was intoxicated. He was wrong, but totally fucked thats for sure.

Was unable to move for 30 minutes after a fall on a run. Eventually; I gathered all my remaining strength and reserves to finish this weekend strongly. Here we go…

Up the 1st wee lift: No bother at all.

Up the 2nd lift with one shaky moment over a bump: Hanging in there.

A Ride on a chair lift, upto a decent length run. Stopped, prepared, then took off…

Was moving…. Fast! Ali’s words: “toes up faster, toes down slower. Care with the heels too”.

So I stayed upright on this slope for about 100 yards, which equalled anything I’d managed all weekend. So was happy with that. Met the boys at the bottom. I gave my equipment back. We made our way back to the cafe. A bit earlier this time. One last beer and we were gone.

Back in Braemar…

We had a final night chippy takeaway. Then to the last pub we hadn’t been to yet. Few beers with some very trendy people. God Bless. We were exhausted; me especially.

Next morning we took it all slower. Decent breakfast, grabbed our shite and checked out.

Before heading back we took a detour to a beautiful spot called Linn of Dee. Theres a big river… and a good rocky walk in the woods. Definitely worth it!