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A few bikers saw the road open out and only round the corner realised the sharp turn onto the red bike track... a few spills!
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Ski Tow Gully still has a good depth of snow.
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Macavalanche competitors head up the Cliffy, beyond the Canyon which was probably the pick of the day though close tie with the Wall.
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Looking up the Main Basin, fast crunchy granular spring snow giving great blue run turns.
| Sun making an appearance on Saturday afternoon, forecast is good for Sunday and Monday, so don't miss out on some final turns!
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Wall T-bar still doing its thing the 5th of May!
| Bring a sense of humour and if you're a nervous skier a pair of water wings for Mugs Alley!
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Leaders disappearing into the distance while some are bogged down in the snow near the start of the Macavalanche!
| Mass start bike chaos on the snow out on Etive Glades.
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Ready for the start of stage 3 of the Macavalanche.
| Above the Cliffhanger the uplift for bikes was a bit more primitive!
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Laying out some spring turns on the Main Basin.
| Main Basin T-bar doing it's thing for just 2 more days, summer is long enough so get up Sunday and/or Monday!
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Timed seeding run for the Macavalanche mass start.
| A82 far below on Rannoch Moor during stage 1 of the Macavalanche.
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Looking down Happy Valley, still in good shape for it's whole length.
| Waiting for the mass start of the Macavalanche out on Etive Glades.
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Saturday was the Macavalanche mountain bike race, two timed stages to seed the mass start which set off around 4.30pm on Etive Glades before heading out not Creag Dubh then following loosely the red bike track back to base.
No bikers to compete with for the Cliffhanger Chair on Sunday, but there are just 2 days left of lift served riding for the 2017/18 Scottish Season and with a decent forecast for a dry couple of days with moderate wind and good Sunny Spells there is no excuse to not get up for a final slide or two. Summer will be long enough, so don't make it longer!
There is still plenty of terrain for confident intermediates up with the Main Basin (blue) and Happy Valley (blue) on the upper mountain in great condition with crunchy spring snow from the Main Basin T-bar. The pick of the day on Saturday was the Canyon and the Wall, the Canyon best ridden by cutting out skiers right onto the High Road and using Mugs Alley to return to the Wall T-bar (or Cliffhanger if you preferred).
The Wall (red) was fairly smooth and like the Canyon (black) perfect fast granular true spring snow, the stuff that takes an entire season to come to it's best as the deeper consolidated snow comes to the surface in the warmer spring temperatures. Some nice bumps in the Canyon, not too big and not too tight just great fun.
The Spring Run (red) accumulated a lot of windblown fresh mid-week and still had some sticky areas earlier Saturday, but the mild temperatures and use gradually skied the stickiness out of it. Check with patrol for the latest on the Flypaper in the morning, Saturday afternoon it was fast granular spring snow and fairly smooth without the meltwater runnels that were a feature a week ago.
Return to the middle lifts is possible via the Wall, Wall Crossover, Canyon to High Road and Mugs Alley. However Mugs Alley is only suitable for experienced skiers and boarders, a wider and more sane route is available via the lower fork of Old Mugs Alley to the base of the Coire Pollach Tow. That is the best route to end the day or to get to the Plateau Cafe. It also allows the easiest available terrain to be ridden with a short hoof back past the cafe to the Cliffhanger.
Remember just 2 days left for lift served turns!
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