The slowly fading light as 5pm ticked past and afternoon turned to evening didn't stop play on CairnGorm Mountain on Friday. As the mid mountain lifts shutdown, then the lower slopes people headed back up on the Funicular Railway where the Ciste and Ptarmigan Tow carried on into the evening.

The Ptarmigan Tow was closed for a while for pisting and reopened shortly after 6.30pm, helping spread people out around the Top Basin after a busy start to the evening session on the Ciste Tow. With the flood lights in place and benign weather forecast for early in the week, it's hoped to repeat the night skiing on at least one more night. Keep an eye on reports.

Elsewhere away from the Top Basin which has basically total cover, there is great top to Daylodge riding on offer via both the Carpark Runs and the M2/Daylodge route. Good cover on the lower slopes means there is a fairly gentle terrain park set up by the Sheiling Trainer Tow. A good bolt hole for some mucking about if the hill is busy.

The Daylodge Poma was proving popular on Friday afternoon, nice quite spring like snow. Some softening during the day, but with clear skies arriving with dusk the snow pack was firming up this evening. Expect a firm start, with some hardpacked areas, but it should soon loosen as the FL goes above the tops.

With diurnal freeze / thaw cycling there should be little snow loss but a gradual morphing of the snow to granular spring snow, so good riding that should get even better.

More daytime pix from around the mountain from H11lly in the Public Reports.