One of the biggest tourist recreation companies in the Highlands overcame some “appalling” weather conditions to post a 72% jump in profits for the year to the end of October 2014.
Nevis Range Development Company, which runs skiing and other recreational facilities on Aonach Mor in Lochaber, said its pre-tax profits increased to £232,000 from £135,000 a year earlier.
Turnover at Nevis Range, which celebrated its 25 anniversary in December 2014, rose 19.6% to £2.5million.
Chairman Jim Gunn said the 2013-14 ski season was one of the “snowiest” and “windiest” in the company’s history.
Two months of constant snowfall buried the facility’s snow lifts, which also suffered damage at the hands of a series of storms and two hurricanes in December 2013.
The ski season started on boxing day and continued through April 25, during which time 45 days were unaffected by adverse weather.
Too much snow or strong winds led to activities being scaled back on 37 days.
Nevertheless, the company said the bad weather was not enough to stop the number of skiers rising to 26,000 from 17,000 for the season.
What’s more, Nevis Range’s facilities are in line for an upgrade.
Last month the company said £5.5million would be spent on improving four of Scotland’s ski centres, with the Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise coughing up 75% of that figure.
Nevis Range will spend its £700,000 share on modernising the electronics and communications systems on its gondolas and building a more robust bridge on one of its main ski runs.
It will also fit equipment to the ski lifts to protect them from lightning strikes.
Mr Gunn said better summer weather helped raise gondola visits to 135,000 from 130,000, though the company did suffer in June, “along with many Highland tourist facilities due to the Commonwealth Games attracting leisure time.”
The number of bikers racing down the forest trails remained steady, however, at just over 7,000 for the year.
Mr Gunn added that new “down” trails in the forest are “seeing a lot of use,” and that an up trail and some dirty jumps are currently being built.