EDINBURGH, Scotland, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- While Scottish drivers have been cursing the recent mix of snow and high winds, ski areas and skiers have welcomed the best conditions in at least a decade.
The winter weather has broken a string of seasons with high temperatures and little snow. Recent conditions in many European ski areas have been so bad that classic competitions have been forced to move north.
"We've had 500 people on the slopes every day this week and today I'd say that we've got about 1,500," Stuart Davidson of the Glenshee Ski Center told The Independent. "There are clearly a lot of people who have taken sick days."
Ski resorts reported that almost all runs were open.
"We've definitely suffered over the past few years," said Ian Whitaker of Cairngorm Mountain Ltd. "We've had challenging conditions to deal with, mainly large variation in temperature. Scottish slopes often lose snow pretty quickly after it's fallen and last year we had high winds, which blow the snow off the slopes. But when the conditions are right, many people say skiing in Scotland can compete with anywhere in the world."
