The Cairngorms Ski Centre

Click here to find places to stay near Cairngorm Ski Centre.


Cairngorm Mountain


The Cairngorms Ski centre is right in the heart of Scotland, just a few miles outside Aviemore. It is one of the most accessible resorts with the A9 passing nearby and a train station in Aviemore with bus links up to the centre all year round. In recent years a funicular railway was built here to carry skiers, boarders and site-seers from the main centre at the car park to the Ptarmigan top station.

Click here to find places to stay near Cairngorm Ski Centre.


What are the slopes like?

Cairngorm Mountain offers a full range of slopes to suit all abilities:

8 Green Runs
9 Blue Runs
6 Red Runs
3 Black Runs

The uplift for the mountain consists of:

1 Funicular Railway
6 Poma Drag Lifts
5 T Bar Drag Lifts

Click here to see the piste map
Although there are not as many slopes and lifts on the Cairngorm Mountain as Glenshee for example, you do get longer runs here with 2 long blue runs from the Ptarmigan station at the top, all the way down to the car park. There are also routes that allow beginners to test there stamina ("Traverse" to "Upper Cas" to "Zig Zags" and ending up in the car park at the bottom) and a good choice of more difficult runs that are quite reasonable in length.


How much does a ski pass cost?

2011/12 Lift Passes
Cairngorm Mountain Prices

  • Under 5's ski free.
  • Juniors are aged 6-16.
  • Students must show a valid matriculation card.
  • 4 day passes do not have to be used on consecutive days

(We try to keep prices as accurate as we can, however prices may differ slightly to the ones shown here.)


Overall what is Cairngorm Mountain like?

Good points

  • Highest Resort in Scotland
  • Long runs for all abilities
  • Funicular Railway speeds up access to the mountain
  • Excellent beginners slope high up (usually the first place to get enough snow to ski, and the last place to lose it)


Bad Points

  • Not as many runs as Glenshee
  • Only Poma's and T Bar lifts servicing the mountain (except for the main Funicular)
  • Can be prone to high winds


Click here to buy tickets online.

How do I get there?

From the South - Head up the A9 from Perth towards Inverness for 80 miles. Turn off to the right signposted Aviemore B9152, then first left. Follow this road into Aviemore and at the first roundabout take the third exit B970 towards Rothiemurchus and Coylumbridge. Continue along this road for 9 miles.

From the North – Head down the A9 from Inverness towards Perth for 30 miles. Turn left signposted Aviemore B9152. Follow signs for Aviemore. Travel to the Southern end of the town and turn left along the B970 towards Rothiemurchus and Coylumbridge. Continue along this road for 9 miles.

By Train (to Aveimore) – Aviemore train station links into the main railway grid via Inverness and Perth. Public busses run regularly from the station to the Cairngorms slopes.

By Bus – Citylink and Megabus both travel through Aviemore (visit there websites to see timetables). From the town you can then get a public bus (number 34) to the Ski centre. These buses run regularly throughout the winter. Weekdays leaving Aviemore at 7.21am, 7.56am, 9.16am and then hourly after that. At weekends the 7.21am and 7.56am buses don't run but the rest is the same as weekday times. Buses coming back leave at 40mins past the hour, every hour with the last bus leaving Cairngorm car park at 4.40pm. For more info click the link to see a full timetable.Aviemore bus timetable.

Latest Snow Reports and Weather Forecast

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