📌 Ski centre near Fort William, Highland
★★★
🛠️ Braveheart, Warrens & Great Glen lifts closed for the 2023/24 season. As far as I know, all other lifts can run if conditions allow.
Scotland’s only four-seater chairlift, its highest slopes, views of Ben Nevis and the sea (well, a sea loch), and a notable absence of queues. What’s not to like? Okay, it’s a shame about some of the mothballed lifts and the long drive from the Central Belt, but Nevis Range definitely deserves more recognition from the numerous skiers who choose to go elsewhere.
Scroll down for our detailed guide.
🌍 Location
📌 Off the A82 (5 mi east of Fort William)
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NN 172774
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.852091,-4.998624
🚌 Infrequent bus from Fort William / Spean Bridge
🚗 Large car park – access roads fairly reliably kept open
📝 Key info
🚡 13 lifts | ⛷️ 30 km | ↕️ Skiing range: 640-1,190 m
⌚ Roughly late December to April, conditions permitting
🎫 Day lift pass: £45.95 adult / £25.95 child
🎿 Equipment hire: On site or in Fort William to west
⛷️ Slopes guide
Don’t miss… The Back Corries – a huge expanse of steep, expert terrain accessed from near the summit and sporadically served by the Braveheart Chair. Unmarked, not always patrolled and often with large cornices to negotiate as you enter.
The ski area doesn’t really begin until the top of Scotland’s only Gondola, although once in a blue moon you can pick your way down forestry tracks and mountain bike trails on skis, back to the car park which is nearly at sea level. Scattered around the gondola station there’s an extensive array of beginner lifts and runs, making up Zone B which is also handily covered by a cheaper lift pass. First-timers can start off on short green runs served by a covered magic carpet lift, the Rope Tow, Linnhe Button and Lochy Button, but shouldn’t neglect the Rob Roy T-bar with its greens and blues accessed by cat track or the two-way Great Glen Chair. This T-bar sits on its own on an often more snowy northeast aspect. Rob Roy’s Return traverses back to the gondola top station and is a decent long, easy run. Also in Zone B, the longer Alpha Button takes you to ideal progression runs, with Alpha, Yockies and Rabbit Run returning fairly directly to the base, and Macpherson’s providing an alternative route to the Rob Roy area.
For intermediates upward, the rest of the area is where most of the interest lies. From the top of the Alpha Button, useful traverses take you to the main area served by the Quad Chair, Goose T-bar and Summit Button – the former is Scotland’s only four-seater chairlift. All serve lovely wide runs – The Goose‘s broad bowl is probably Nevis’s signature run and links into the narrower Allt Snechda gully to give a great, long cruise. To skier’s left, Sidewinder deserves a mention, zig-zagging across to the top of the quad; meanwhile, Far West goes exactly there, with some of the best views of Loch Eil. The blues off the summit button are Scotland’s highest marked runs, and resemble an Alpine glacier area, often with excellent snow. Views toward Ben Nevis from Spectre are sensational.
Experts should feast their eyes on the left half of the piste map. Warren’s T-bar serves long, unpisted blacks, some susceptible to wind scouring. However, it’s the Back Corries where Nevis Range really comes into its own. If suitably equipped with avalanche gear, and snow conditions make it safe to do so, you can drop (usually literally, off cornices) from the aptly-named Lemming Ridge into a vast area of off-piste, with orange itineraries for inspiration on the piste map. If the Braveheart Chair is open, nearly 600 m vertical of lift-served powder may be available, after which you can traverse back around to the front of the mountain via the Rob Roy area. In good conditions, nowhere in Scotland comes close to the Back Corries for lift-assisted off-piste.
❄️ Snow & weather
The furthest northwest of the ski centres, Nevis Range’s weather can be very different to the other snowsports destinations – sometimes missing out on snow while other areas benefit, and vice versa. Snow in the Goose gully and on the summit is usually reliable, but lower surface lifts are needed to access these – once the Alpha Button uptrack melts, the area quickly becomes disjointed. The beginner area near the gondola top station is low and can have poor snow, though we hope a new snowmaking system installed for the 2019/20 season will have a transformational effect; the gentle Rob Roy zone also often has better conditions. The Braveheart Chair in the Back Corries usually opens late season once successive westerly storms fill them up with snow, and only when avalanche risk is deemed low enough. Beware – the traverse back to the front of the mountain may not have snow, even when the main itineraries do. Wind-wise, the Summit button and access Gondola are vulnerable. Piste grooming is excellent, and often continues throughout the day.
👪 Queues & facilities
Lack of crowds and queues is one of Nevis Range’s biggest draws. The high capacity access Gondola whisks everyone up onto the mountain without waiting, and the Quad Chair swallows up huge numbers further up. In good snow, multiple beginner lifts and slopes prevent the nursery areas from becoming too crowded. The isolated northerly location helps – for most customers, other ski centres are a shorter drive away.
Ski and snowboard hire expensive but well laid out, with a newly launched “premium” range also available. Ski school is available. There are three places to eat – the Pinemarten at the base serves good food, and the Snowgoose at the gondola top station has something bordering on Alpine mountain restaurant ambience. The Goose T-Hut is little more than a shack and opens at peak weekends. Accommodation is best sought in Fort William, a few minutes’ drive away.
🥜 In a nutshell: Snowsports in Scotland
>> Want to know more about Scottish snowsports in general? Check out our overview page.
