Ski Touring in Dumfries & Galloway
This new page has some brief information about the ski-touring and ski mountaineering possibilities in Dumfries and Galloway. Flexibility is the most important issue by a long way. You need to get out there as soon as it snows because it never lasts long in the Galloway Hills..! You also need a creative attitude to how much snow is really necessary to ski on (see pictures of Merrick and Cairnsmore below) plus an old pair of skis and skins.
A further piece of advice is to look carefully at the direction the snow has arrived from - so if it has come from the east head to the Moffat or Lowther Hills, if it has come from the west try the Merrick or Cairnsmore.
Several of the routes I've skied are mentioned in the late Malcolm Slessor's book Scottish Mountains on Ski (West Col 1970). It is optimistically titled Volume 1, but I don't think Volume 2 ever appeared.. There are tours on Green Lowther, the traverse of Cairnsmore of Carsphairn and an ascent of Corserine in Dumfries and Galloway as well as some unusual and interesting sounding stuff on Tinto, the Campsies and the Pentlands.
Moffat Hills
Probably the most reliable for snow on easterly weather, they also have good short grass so less cover is needed. We've done tours from the A701 road at the top of the Devils Beeftub to the top of Hart Fell (808m), and along the hills on the south side of Moffat Water.
Skiing on the summit of Broad Law, 840m., While Broad Law is not really in Galloway the hills around here provide some of the best ski touring potential in the Southern Uplands. Picture courtesy of Ross from Moffat.
Lowther Hills
Steep and grassy, the area around the A702 at the Dalveen pass is good and easily accessible, with steep grassy slopes requiring fairly small amounts of snow to become skiable. The high roads around the villages of Leadhills and Wanlockhead provide easy access to the highest summits as well, though the terrain is more rolling.
Lowther Hills from the south, under snow (there's even a full depth slab avalanche in the centre of the picture.!).
Myself and Kenny Livingston skiing back down to the Dalveen pass from Lowther Hill. Excellent conditions in March 2010.
.....and the last turns back to the road at the Dalveen Pass.
Cairnsmore of Carsphairn
This 797m high hill is one of the more reliable for snow and easily reached by road. The standard route is from the A713 road at the bridge about 1km north of the village of Carsphairn. From here a farm track leads towards the hill, then two different drystane dykes run up onto the plateau - these are useful for catching snow of course.
"Ribbon" skiing in Galloway - skinning up by the dyke on Cairnsmore of Carsphairn - March 2008.
Thin snow cover on the lower slopes. This terrain was easy to skin up and turned out to be fine to ski down as well. On thin snow cover like this it is just important to do kick turns or step turns and not try any carving....
Rhinns of Kells
The full traverse of the Rhinns makes a great day out, especially on skis. After two failed attempts we finally did this tour in 2003, starting at the north end (Brochloch on the A713 road), skiing up onto Corran of Portmark, over Carlin's Cairn and Corserine then finishing by skiing east off Meikle Millyea and descending the forestry roads in the dark back to Forrest Lodge (where we had earlier left a shuttle car).
Photos below are © and courtesy of Stephen Reid @ Needlesports
Skiing off Meikle Millyea at sunset.
The best snow of the day was going up and over Carlin's Cairn as we approached Corserine.
Merrick
The highest peak in Galloway, Kirkcudbrightshire and indeed the whole of the Southern Uplands, the 843m high Merrick has some good skiing potential, with short grass on the higher plateaus needing minimal snow cover to be skiable. The classic tour is to ski in over Benyellary to the summit. The Howe of the Cauldron is a good steep descent that holds snow well, though it is rocky enough to need some depth or drifting before it is skiable.
Classic ribbon skiing high up on the Merrick in Galloway. Beyond the wind-scoured grass there were some reasonably big snow patches...
Stephen arriving at the summit.
Some good steep, skiing down into the top of the Howe of the Cauldron, with Loch Enoch and Meikle Millyea in the background Photo courtesy of Stephen Reid at Needlesports. My distinctive red jacket courtesy of Adobe Photoshop!
Skiing off the summit of the Merrick, March 2008.
Galloway Climbing Links
Merrick Summit Panorama The longest theoretical line of sight possible in the British Isles is from the top of the Merrick to Snowdon in Wales, a distance of 232km - see this site for details and other great summit panoramas.
Galloway Climbing Index Route Diagrams and topos on this website. An index page on this website with links to lots of information about climbing on the various crags in Galloway - mostly the Kirkcudbrightshire end.
Galloway climbing A web page run by Stephen Reid of Needlesports with some good Galloway climbing information, including some more new route information.
Winter Climbing in Galloway - Some winter photos.
Galloway Mountain Rescue Team - The local rescue team.
Galloway Mountaineering Club - A local, Dumfries based, mainly hillwalking club.
