The weather couldn’t have been better for the Big Spring weekend, with temperatures hitting around 26 degrees so there was a great turnout at both resorts. Around 85 people braved the heat to help clean up the mountain at Nevis Range with similar numbers at Cairngorm.

Volunteers from as far away as Australia helped take part, some of whom had returned for a second time. Rubbish collected included a plastic sledge, broken ski poles, a ski boot, plastic bottles, cans and a bin lid! Nearly 60 bags of rubbish were collected in total despite comments that the resorts were quite cleaner than expected.

"One of the biggest issues we have here is people leaving their litter behind and they don't take it home" commented Heather Negus, Marketing Manager of Nevis Range. "Particularly in the winter people drop their litter and then it snows and nobody can see the litter. Projects like this raise awareness about the litter on the hill, and actually getting our visitors to gather the litter and take the litter away is brilliant."

The Big Spring Clean is part of the Ski Club of Great Britain’s Respect the Mountain Campaign. As well as helping the sustainability of the mountains and wildlife, the event raises awareness about responsible tourism and sends a message to skiers and walkers about the seriousness of dropping litter.

Ski Club Rep Fraser Petrie who helped out at Cairngorm said, "It was great to be a part of the Big Spring Clean and fantastic to see not only adults but children getting involved which hopefully reinforces the message to the next generation that we are responsible keeping our environment clean, so we can enjoy it for snowsports for years & years to come".

Information Source: www.skiclub.co.uk