The UK’s first ski and snowboard festival, The Mighty Coe, launches at Glencoe Mountain in Scotland on March 26 and 27, 2022. The programme for the weekend includes an impressive line-up of major international ski and snowsport brands, alongside a wide range of on-snow and social activities.
Festival village of The Mighty Coe
At the heart of the day-time snow action is a piste-side festival village half-way up the ski centre terrain. There will be a chance for visitors to check out and test equipment from brands such as Nordica, Dynastar, Atomic, Jones, Dynafit, Lange, Black Crows, K2, Shred, Head, Ortovox, Scott, Fauna, Line, Planks and more.
There will also be a programme of skills courses and sessions, including guide-led split-boarding and ski touring to provide a taste of Scotland’s revered backcountry. These sessions offer a chance to try new kit.
The festival village will also feature an outdoor bar, food and DJs all weekend.
Organiser Neil Dalgleish, of events company Hillside Outside, is delighted to be bringing the inaugural ski and snowboard festival to Glencoe Mountain. He says: “Apart from getting together to celebrate skiing and snowboarding after the last two years of Covid restrictions, one of the aims of the festival is to encourage people to discover the joys of getting into the backcountry.
“People can find out what kit they need, maybe try some of it and join a group to learn the basics of what to do and how to stay safe while doing it.”
The festival also features The North Face and Ellis Brigham Snow Night – a film and apres-ski evening that has already toured to London and Manchester. Scottish lockdown snow film Grounded will receive a rare showing, alongside some of the best snowsport films of the season.
The Snow Night will be something of a baptism for Glencoe Mountain Resort’s new café building complex, which was rebuilt after a devastating fire on Boxing Day 2019.
The Mighty Coe: The bigger picture
The idea for The Mighty Coe was born during lockdown and is, in part, a response to the renewed interest in “home snow”, but also the bigger climate picture.
Neil says: “You just have to look at the tragedy happening to the glaciers and to the weather now. We have to change what we do – all of us do. I hope this festival will show that you can still have an amazing time in the mountains without needing to fly anywhere. Learning to make the most of our less-polluting opportunities has to be a crucial part of the future.”
The festival has partnered with climate action charity Protect Our Winters, whose aim is to help passionate outdoor people become effective climate advocates to achieve systemic solutions to climate change.
The Mighty Coe aims to be an annual celebration of skiing and snowboarding for the UK. The festival is organised by Scottish outdoor event organisers Hillside Outside Ltd in partnership with Glencoe Mountain Resort. Support comes from The North Face, Salomon and Ellis Brigham.
Full programme information is available at The Mighty Coe.
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