New trials being developed at the Lecht Ski Centre, Aberdeenshire, are due to open on the 16 May, as the finishing touches are currently being added to a trail which can boast a three-man chairlift to the top.

The first trail to open is the ‘Red Fox’, a red graded trail with a 1600m descent. The Lecht Ski Centre is situated on the infamous Tomintoul to Cockbridge road in the heart of the Cairngorm National Park, the highest main road in Scotland at 2090ft. The chairlift gains you another 700ft.

The trail features an assortment of dirt jumps, bomb holes, berms and riding features built from rock. Work on a skills park will near completion at the end of May. Work on the ‘Blue Hare’ trail, a 1900m long blue graded single track trail with easy jumps, bomb holes, bermed corners, avoidance lanes and passing places will open at the end of June.

A European style lodge functions as the centre of all the activities, with a restaurant, bar, toilets and from July onwards bike hire and cleaning facilities.

More info (when the website has been updated) at www.lecht.co.uk There’s a 360 degree web-cam setup here, but when we looked the conditions meant we couldn’t make much out at all.