Cairngorm ski centre has beaten 200 other resorts to win the Golden Ski award for the most improved European ski resort.

The award was made by the Good Skiing and Snowboarding Guide. It is the first time a British resort has won a Golden Ski and, according to the guide, it demonstrates that Scotland has finally come of age as a serious ski destination.

With a £15 million investment in its funicular, which opened in last year, it had shown 'the determination of the Scottish skiing fraternity to be taken seriously'. The funicular can carry up to 1,200 passengers an hour in winter and up to 500 per hour in summer.

Controversy

The award is a vindication for the centre following lengthy planning wrangles and disputes with environmental groups.

The project has been dogged by controversy. After being approved by the then Highland regional council, it was held up initially when the WWF conservation group and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds pressed for a judicial review over whether visitor management arrangements were adequate to protect the environment. There has also been criticism of the "closed system" which prevents visitors accessing the mountain in summer.

"A winter ski playground to rival the Alps"

Peter Hardy, the co-author of the guide, said: "Cairngorm has shown the way forward. A lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into gaining approval and building the funicular. If Scottish resort improvements continue at this level we can expect to see a winter ski playground that rivals many resorts in the Alps.

"Scotland is improving all the time for snow holidays. Cairn Gorm mountain is the best example of a resort that is keen to improve its facilities, and...that Scottish skiing is getting better."

Aspen and Les Arcs "best resorts"

The award puts the Cairngorm centre alongside Fernie in British Columbia, which was voted the most improved North American resort, while Aspen, Colorado, and Les Arcs, in France, were voted best resorts.

[Source: The Scotsman]

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