Chairlift to make final journey

The chairlift has transported 9m skiers in over 40 years

A chairlift in the Scottish Highlands is to make its last journey over the course of the weekend, marking the end of an era spanning over 40 years.

The White Lady chairlift on the 4,084ft Cairngorm mountain has served ski-ing enthusiasts but is to be demolished to make way for an Alpine-style mountain railway.

More than 9m skiers have been carried to the slopes by the chairlift, however by December 2001 the £14.8m railway will take over.

The Cairngorm Chairlift company's chief executive has said it was time for change.

The chairlift will be fondly remembered

An employee of the chairlift company said demand to take to the slopes had risen dramatically since the 1960s.

Muriel MacKay said: "I well remember the extreme cold. But things were different then.

"I was on first name terms with all the regulars who were few and far between compared with today when thousands can arrive on one day."

Chief executive Bob Kinnaird said it had become part of Scottish skiing heritage.

Original cost

"In recent years the White Lady has become an unreliable, old, piece of equipment that is almost as fickle as the Scottish winter itself."

He said that most would remember it with affection as a piece of Scotland's skiing heritage, with over 40 people expressing an interest in buying one of the old chairs.

From now until Tuesday, people over 65 can use the chairlift at the original cost of four shillings (20p) per section.

Bosses at Cairngorm plan to keep the other 16 uplift systems open until the end of April.