The Lecht Ski Centre is an alpine ski area in the

Cairngorms The Cairngorms ( gd, Am Monadh Ruadh) are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national park (the Cairngorms National Park) on 1 ...

in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland ...

. The ski slopes are set around the mountains Beinn a' Chruinnich, 2,552 ft (778 m) and Meikle Corr Riabhach, 2556 ft (779 m). The Lecht is the smallest ski area in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

in terms of area, number of runs and vertical drop and as such is the most suitable for beginners. 15 lifts provide access to 23 groomed pistes. The smooth, grassy terrain of Beinn a' Chruinnich and Meikle Corr Riabhach often allows the Lecht, despite the modest summit elevation, to provide snow sports with marginal snow cover when other ski areas in Scotland, with more mountainous terrain, may be closed. The ski centre has been operating since the mid 1970s. Prior to the acquisition of snow blowers in the late 1970s a small portable ski tow, giving approximately 200 feet (60 metres) of ski run, was often set up in the fields across from the Allargue Arms Hotel near

Corgarff Corgarff ( gd, Corr Garaidh) is a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in the Grampian Mountains. The nearby Corgarff Castle was used as a military barracks in the 18th century. The hamlet's primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the ...

just below the snow gates. The Lecht Ski Centre has since grown into a year-round mountain activity centre. A new purpose built ski in-ski out day lodge at the bottom of the ski slopes offers a ski equipment rental department, a ski shop selling equipment and clothes, a ski school, cafe, bar and restaurant. The lodge is available for business meetings, private functions and weddings. The ski centre is situated on the slopes above the

A939 The A939 'Lecht Road' connects the A96 at Nairn on the Moray Coast with the A95 Grantown on Spey, then it continues to the A93 at Ballater by way of the Grampian Mountains, passing Tomintoul and the Lecht Ski Centre. This road passes over f ...

road between Cock Bridge and

Tomintoul Tomintoul (; from gd, Tom an t-Sabhail, meaning "Hillock of the Barn") is a village in the Moray council area of Scotland in the historic county of Banffshire. Within Cairngorms National Park, the village lies close to the banks of the Rive ...

. This road is one of the highest main roads in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, navigating several mountain passes and rising to an elevation of 2090 ft (637m) at the Lecht. Local folklore has it that the road is blocked by snow between October and June. Whilst this is obviously exaggerated, the traditional heralding of the Scottish winter occurs when the road is first blocked and this is usually reported in the national news.

External links

Allargue Arms Hotel

Lecht Ski CentreCairngorms Park Info and Accommodation site

BBC Travel Site

Snowreport on Winterhighland
Ski areas and resorts in Scotland Sports venues in Scotland Resorts in the United Kingdom {{Scotland-sports-venue-stub