Slope is no pipe dream for city
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AMBITIOUS plans to create year-round snowsports facilities for Inverness have been unveiled.
A working group of winter sports enthusiasts, backed by national organisation Snowsport Scotland, announced itstheir vision for the scheme this week.
If successful the initiative – being spearheaded by members of the Inverness Backcountry Snowsports Club and Cairngorm Ski Club – could ultimately see a whole range of new facilities for ski-ing and snowboarding as well as mountain biking, orienteering and other activities all within easy reach of the Highland capital.
There are no costs or time frame for the scheme yet.
Helen Morgan, the working group’s co-ordinator, said the people she had spoken to so far felt the lack of such facilities in, or close to, the city was a glaring omission.
“Inverness is one of the largest population centres in Scotland that is not currently served by a dry slope facility for snowsports, yet it is one of the closest cities to some of the main ski resorts in Scotland,” she said.
“What we want to create is a multi-activity centre that is attractive to children and families as well as serious sportspeople.
“It’s definitely the case that participation rates in any kind of snowsports activity is lower for children in Inverness compared to other parts of the country and we want to extend the opportunities for them.
“Many of the top performers in the world got their start on a dry slope but even for people who are not aiming that high it’s a great form of exercise, so we think there are a whole lot of benefits that could come from this.
“We’d also want to make it fully accessible so that disabled people can take full advantage too.”
Plans are currently at a very early stage, with no location for the centre yet identified and no funding in place. There are no costs or time frame for the scheme yet.
“We are looking at several years of work to make this happen,” Ms Morgan said. “But if you don’t start it will never happen.
“The first thing is to get as much public support for the plans as possible and we’ve launched an online survey that will help formulate a strategy for a possible feasibility study.
“We also want to hear directly from individuals or organisations that have any ideas about possible sites or have other suggestions for the project.”
As well as needing a sloped area, the working group has also identified travel time from Inverness as a key consideration and suggested that somewhere with existing access roads could be helpful when it comes to building the slope. Areas of existing forestry could also help enable the development of other activities.
This is not the first time similar facilities have been proposed for the Inverness area.
In 2010 the Lochaber-based Ice Factor group, whicho runs the world’s largest indoor ice climbing wall at Kinlochleven, announced proposals for a £5 million adventure centre on a site by the Inverness marina, only for the plans to be abandoned after the company decided the economic climate wasn’t right at the time.
In 2015, there were proposals for a climbing centre, also at the marina, as part of a strategy by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland – now Mountaineering Scotland – to create a series of climbing hubs across the country.
Stewart Nicol, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said the kinds of facilities now being proposed by the snowsport centre working group would be a welcome addition to the area.
“These are a very important part of what the Highlands hasve to offer – our natural heritage is what the world flocks to us for and anything that allows them to enjoy that in different ways is to be welcomed,” he said.
“If you look at what downhill mountain biking has done for Fort William and the whole Lochaber area, to have something similar for Inverness could be a very a important boost for the economy.”
To read more about the plans and take part in the working group survey see www.ibsc.org.uk
