CairnGorm Mountain in Scotland was closed for the past week as staff attempted to dig the resort out from ‘too much snow.’ The lower part of the ski area re-opened on Monday 18th January and staff are now working to re-open the upper half.

This winter has had one of the best starts for 30 years according to some reports in terms of snow conditions and visitor numbers, with more than 30,000 skiers and boarders reported to have visited CairnGorm so far this season.

Over the past decade CairnGorm and other Scottish ski areas have more often been forced to close their ski slopes because of too little snow, rather than too much. But, CairnGorm has received nearly two metres of snow on its upper slopes in the past month and strong winds caused drifts up to five metres deep which buried the resort’s access road and parts of the funicular railway, as well as causing a high avalanche risk.