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Caption: Scotland Skiing the Scottish Highlands
Caption: In March 2014, Arc'teryx athletes Forrest Coots and Chad Sayers, along with writer Matt Coté and myself, travelled to the Scottish Highlands to explore the ski culture of Scotland and ski from the summit of the highest point in the UK, Ben Nevis. Our experience was recently brought to print in the latest issue of The Ski Journal, available digitally and on newsstands now.
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Caption: Our first stop on the trip: Glencoe Mountain Resort.
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Caption: As expected, there wasn't much snow in the valley bottom but that doesn't deter the hearty Scottish skier.
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Caption: Despite the lack of snow, the dramatic landscape more than made up for it, as well as the unique snow fences and old-school lifts.
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Caption: As a crew, we searched the backcountry around Glencoe in search of good skiing and were rewarded with some fun, short lines.
Caption: After a great few days on the lifts at Glencoe, we moved along the Highlands to try our luck at Nevis Range, where we might catch a glimpse of Ben Nevis, our main ski objective of the trip.
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Caption: Famous for the Fort William World Cup Downhill MTB track, we had second thoughts about bringing bikes instead of skis with the warm temps.
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Caption: The harsh Scottish winds and icy conditions were also playing on our minds as we readied ourselves to drop in.
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Caption: We found plenty of snow in protected slopes but would it be good skiing??
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Caption: We were surprised to find great corn skiing in the sun and even found some pockets of Scottish powder, something that we had thought would be as elusive as the Loch Ness Monster.
Up next: A visit to Ben Nevis
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Caption: The long walk into the hut at the base of "The Ben" took its toll on us but as we arrived, we also finally found snow.
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Caption: Using crampons instead of skins for the hard snow, we walked up to our objective and climbed one of the main gullies, normally used for ice climbers, to access the summit.
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Caption: The long valley slog back to the vehicle after a successful mission to Ben Nevis.
Caption: After reaching the summit on our second attempt, we skied down some great corn snow with dramatic views of the Highlands. With out main objective achieved, we took in some sights before heading off to our last ski resort, CairnGorm Mountain.
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Caption: We visited the Isle of Skye for a beautiful sunset, as well as checking out some old castles along the way.
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Caption: Forrest walking inside one of the many castles on the Isle of Skye.
Caption: We arrived at CairnGorm Mountain in terrible weather and snow conditions. Despite those facts, we skied with locals and had a blast skiing soft, spring conditions.
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Caption: Taking the funicular to the base of CairnGorm Mountain Resort.
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Caption: If anything, the unique lifts kept us on our toes, as well as dodging rocks and dirt patches all over the resort.
Caption: With the weather turning and our trip almost over, we spent another day or two being tourists before returning home to North America.
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Caption: Restaurant in Aviemore
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Caption: Chad in a phone booth in Edinburgh.
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Caption: Edinburgh
Caption: What an amazing trip to a place that I would never have expected to be so rich in ski culture.
Huge thanks to Visit Scotland, The Ski Journal and @arcteryx for the support on this trip.
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