Coire na Ciste
The lost half of Scotland's Cairngorm ski area - a chairlift system unused from 2005, fought over for a decade by a campaign to save it, and demolished by the development agency in August 2017.
- Region
- Highland
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Status
- closed
- Year closed
- 2005
- Reason for closure
- The Coire na Ciste chairlifts were taken out of use in 2005 following the opening of the Cairngorm funicular on the neighbouring Coire Cas side, and were never run again. Highlands and Islands Enterprise paid to demolish them in late August 2017.
History
Coire na Ciste is the eastern corrie of Cairn Gorm, in the Highlands, and for decades it carried half of Scotland's best-known ski area - the steeper, more sheltered half, valued by advanced skiers for holding snow when Coire Cas next door had blown clear. Its chairlifts stopped being used in 2005, after the funicular railway opened on the Coire Cas side, and stood idle for twelve years. A campaign group, Save the Ciste, pressed throughout that period for the lifts to be reinstated or replaced, proposing something more than a simple return to the 1970s and 1980s arrangement. Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which owns the estate, instead paid for demolition in late August 2017; once the pylons came down, any prospect of the Ciste returning went with them. The corrie car park was cleared up in 2019. Cairngorm Mountain continues to operate from Coire Cas, so this entry covers the abandoned Ciste side rather than the mountain as a whole - a large piece of British skiing that simply ceased to exist. Its opening year, lift specifications and run names are not compiled in accessible sources.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift | One of the Coire na Ciste chairlifts, unused from 2005 and left standing for twelve years before its pylons were taken down in August 2017 | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift | The second Coire na Ciste chairlift, demolished at the same time |
Sources and further reading
- https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2020/11/18/coire-na-ciste-at-cairn-gorm-whats-been-lost-to-snowsports-enthusiasts/
- https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2020/07/14/cairn-gorm-hies-negligence-in-coire-na-ciste/
- https://www.worldsnowboardguide.com/news/campaign-to-reinstate-coire-na-ciste-chairlift-.html
- https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/things-to-do/whats-going-chairlifts-cairngorm-mountain-1440414
More in United Kingdom
Location
57.1468, -3.6598