Glenshee: the back story

About Glenshee: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Ski Resorts Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Glenshee spreads across three valleys on either side of the A93 at the Cairnwell Pass, the highest public road in the UK, between Braemar and Perthshire. With 22 uplifts and more than 40 km of pisted runs, it is the largest ski area in Scotland.

A tractor and a rope

Skiers began exploring Glenshee’s hills on foot in 1935. In 1955 the first powered rope tow was built on Ben Gulabin, driven by an old tractor, and in 1957 the Dundee Ski Club built a T-bar on Meall Odhar. The Glenshee Chairlift Company, formed in 1961, opened the Cairnwell Chair to the public in 1962, when a book of 12 tickets cost £1.

Growing up the valleys

The first lift on Sunnyside followed in 1963, along with a part-time ski rescue service set up by a local doctor, with volunteer Scouts and Guides as the first patrollers. The base café was built in 1966, the infamous Devil’s Elbow hairpin on the A93 was bypassed in 1969, and through the 1970s and 1980s new pomas opened up the middle valley, Coire Fionn and, in 1986, Glas Maol, the longest and highest lift at Glenshee.

From a tractor-driven rope tow to Scotland’s largest ski area.

Today

Glenshee now has 22 uplifts across three valleys, more than 40 km of pisted runs and terrain from gentle nursery slopes to steeps, glades and narrow gullies. The Cairnwell triple chair replaced the original chairlift in 2015, and in 2019 a Snowfactory snow-making system arrived, so that some runs can open on artificial snow. Even so, the season depends on the weather, and the A93 snow gates at Braemar and the Spittal of Glenshee can close after heavy snow.

Royal Deeside on the doorstep

Glenshee sits on the Snow Roads scenic route through the Cairngorms National Park. To the north lie Braemar and Ballater, Royal Deeside villages with hotels from youth hostels to the Fife Arms; to the south, the Spittal of Glenshee and Dalmunzie Castle. Edinburgh is about two hours away by car.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Glenshee: the back story before you go.