Loch Insh Outdoor Centre in Scotland, is appealing for help to raise £55,000 to replace its aging artificial slope. The Centre has been awarded grant funding from Highland and Island Enterprise (HIE) and is crowdfunding for the project. Every penny it manages to raise will be matched up to £55,000.
An artist’s impression of how the new ski and snowboard slope at Loch Insh could look.
Loch Insh is a family business, built by brothers Jonny and Duncan Freshwater, offering watersports and snowsports in the heart of the Cairngorm National Park. To meet the growing needs of the local community and the increasing number of visitors to the valley, the artificial slope will be replaced with a new state-of-the-art and climate-ready surface from Proslope.
The main aims of the project are to improve the slope gradient, enabling more turns, replacing the old surface with the latest technology to make learning safer and easier, adding movable freestyle features to open up the slope to more intermediate riders previously not catered for, aligning with the demands of young skiers and boarders, installing sprinkler technology to make the surface feel as good in the summer months as it does when it’s covered with snow, and if the fundraising target is reached, fitting an upgraded ‘magic carpet’ lift system to help make skiing and ‘boarding more accessible and inclusive.
The renewed dry slope will feed year-round grassroots ski and snowboard coaching for the whole area, giving the Highlands the same access opportunities as the successful slopes in Aberdeen and the central belt.
Skiing and snowboarding is available at the centre.
The Freshwater family has been involved with the development of skiing and snowsports instruction in Scotland since the late ’60s; Clive Freshwater was a founding member of BASI and chairman from 1967-1979, helping create the foundations of the organisation and training and grading snowsports instructors giving avenues into employment all over the world. Clive added the Loch Insh dry slope in 1988, which has been vital in meeting the needs of visitors and locals as snow on the mountain has become less reliable.
As well as the sports facilities, the Centre includes a 100-cover restaurant, 13 Chalets, two apartments and a 21-room bed and breakfast in the former Insh village hall.
When the upgrade project is complete the plan is to make the centre a year-round destination for local and tourism markets. There will be club nights for the local community and more skiing and snowboard lessons for schools and groups. Attracting visitors to learn to ski and board will extend the season and deliver more visitors to the local areas throughout the year, securing more jobs within the business and locally, thereby targeting traditionally down times of the year from October to April.
Laura McNally, CEO of Loch Insh Outdoor Centre, said: “We are delighted that HIE has given us the opportunity to continue to provide snowsports all year round, thanks to the grant, and we are thankful to the community members who have already contributed to the project. The slope has created memories for generations already and now the snow is becoming increasingly unreliable it’s great that we will be able to guarantee snowsports to create memories for generations to come.”
Jonny Freshwater, Activities Director, added: “The Loch Insh No Stars Windsurf Club was highly successful putting the best equipment in the hands of passionate instructors, giving a platform to elevate local kids to Olympic campaigns. We now want to do the same for skiing and snowboarding, providing the best grassroots experience to feed local and national ski and snowboard clubs by delivering a first-class experience for all.”
Crowdfunder Page: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/lochinshdryslope
email: Crowdfunding@lochinsh.co.uk
Categories: Club & Slope News