Cruel is the snow that swept Glenshee

Last night a flatmate asked me if I wanted to go skiing. Even though I love it, I haven't gone skiing in about 5 years, so I naturally said yes. I forgot how close I live to the mountains since St Andrews is relatively flat and snowless (except for this past month), but I don't think Scotland is well-known for skiing. This morning we woke up early, crammed into a friend's car, and drove into the Highlands. The drive was only about an hour and a half long, but the terrain felt completely different. I know some people hate snow because they have to deal with it so much, but it makes me happy. Unfortunately, there was so much snow when we got to Glenshee that the lifts were closed. We waited for about an hour to see if the snow would let up, but it didn't. It got worse. Eventually, some government-official-looking dude told us that we had to leave the valley before the snow got too deep. The police were waiting at the bottom of the valley for all of us to leave before they locked the pass' gate. Reluctantly, we went back to the car and struggled through the snow to leave. We lined up in the road with other wannabe skiers and waited for the police to tell us to go. Tractors with snow plows cleared the road ahead of us; we were supposed to drive directly behind them. A BMW sedan ahead of us got too far behind the tractor and lost traction with the road. For five or so minutes we watched as the car slid from one side of the road to the other and then backwards. The police signaled for us to pass the BMW and follow another tractor. Apparently, BMWs aren't very good in snowy conditions. At the bottom of the valley a line of cars waited on the other side of the pass' gate because they wanted to enter, but the police kept them waiting. From there we just went back home to St Andrews without trying to go anywhere else.

I was disappointed we didn't get to ski, but there's nothing that can be done about the weather, which had looked ok when we checked that morning. I'm not sure if we're going to make the trip back up there. Since I don't have a car, I'm at the mercy of those who do. Next week I turn 25, so I'll be able to rent a car soon. But then class will start back up shortly thereafter.

This photo shows the lifts in the background

with the wind kicking up the snow.

While we waited in the cafe, the snow was

so thick that we couldn't see these lifts.

Since I'm not used to snow, I'm not sure

if others would call this "heavy."

I took this one to show how heavy the snow was.

The title of this post comes from the "Ballad of Glencoe" (aka- "Massacre of Glencoe"). Obviously, equating the song's lyrics to my trip to Glenshee is a huge exaggeration, but whatever.