It also reported a new Instagram account which “featured a number of images, including an exploding gondola”.
In an end-of-year statement, the resort said the posts had since been removed and the Instagram account responsible deactivated.
However, one prominent blogger who was reported to Police Scotland by the firm hit out, saying he had nothing to do with the images and accused management of calling in the “Facebook police” to “monitor social media opinions”.
The centre on the slopes of Aonach Mòr near Fort William has, in recent years, upset some locals and regular mountain users by shifting away from traditional snowsports activities in a bid to attract tourists from overseas.
There has been more focus on year-round events including mountain biking trails and scenic gondola rides. The firm has also invested heavily in hospitality, including Wild, Woven & Whisky — “a whisky tasting and retail concept” — recently opened in Dubai.
Gondolas at the Nevis Range (Image: Nevis Range)
In 2023, the resort announced that when it came to snowsports it would only open “if the conditions are good enough”.
The firm said increasingly unreliable weather and the cost of operating lifts and snowmaking had made previous operating models unsustainable.
As a result, Nevis Range stopped selling traditional season tickets, limited ski hire to weekends, and scrapped its ski school.
Several older lifts have also remained closed because they “aren’t safe to run” and the company is “not in a position to afford the refurbishment work required”.
Critics have said the changes mean Nevis Range remains closed while Scotland’s other ski centres all open.
“Nevis Range is the worst-run ski area in Scotland,” Mark Trigg wrote on his Facebook page, Mark Back Corries. “Nevis Range doesn’t get snow anymore — or so they would like you to believe.
“While Glencoe Mountain Resort, Glenshee Ski Centre, The Lecht and Cairngorm Mountain Resort are all gearing up for the winter season, posting winter photos on their social media, there hasn’t been a peep from Nevis Range about winter or the recent snowfalls.
“Maybe Nevis Range has forgotten what that white stuff is, and maybe they’ve also forgotten what the lifts dotted around the mountain are actually for.”
“Unfortunately, Nevis Range, your lifts are rotting away even though you are Scotland’s newest ski area, seemingly because you choose not to care any more about the local ski economy,” he added.
“Meanwhile, your MD is out in Dubai launching a new bar — yes, you heard right, a bar in Dubai — while your ski infrastructure rots away.”
Skiers and boarders below the Quad Chair, at the Nevis Range (Image: Nevis Range)
In its statement published on Hogmanay, the firm said it had “undergone significant change over the last three years, reshaping the business into a more resilient, diversified and internationally active organisation”.
“As is often the case at this time of year, as the winter season approaches, Nevis Range has experienced some online criticism. That in itself is not unusual.
“What is less widely known is that this recently went beyond criticism.
“On an existing social media account, AI-generated images were published in the comments depicting clearly recognisable members of the Nevis Range team being burned alive in a gondola.
“Separately, a new social media account was created on Instagram which featured a number of images, including an exploding gondola.
“To be absolutely clear: criticism, while unpleasant, is not a police matter. Violent imagery involving identifiable people is different. It is unlawful.
“Following advice from legal counsel and from Meta themselves, the imagery was reported to Police Scotland.
“In the current climate, Nevis Range will not take risks where violent imagery involving people is concerned. This decision was taken calmly, responsibly, and with one priority in mind: the safety of our people.”
On Tuesday, in a post titled “public statement regarding recent events”, Mr Trigg said he was “surprised to receive a visit from the local police today regarding my Facebook page, following complaints lodged by the Nevis Range management”.
“It appears the ‘Facebook police’ are now a tangible reality,” he added.
“During our conversation, I was also questioned about a new Instagram account that’s just popped up… and to clarify I have no affiliation with that page. While I appreciate being credited with such creativity, that particular project is not mine.
“I would like to extend my compliments to the Nevis Range leadership for their efficiency in utilising public resources to monitor social media opinions. It is fascinating to see such a dedicated effort to manage public perception”.
“In truth, further commentary from me is hardly necessary,” Mr Trigg continued. “The venue has transitioned from a charming local staple into a source of collective amusement, largely due to its current stewardship.
“We look forward to the day the current leadership moves on — perhaps to a more suitable climate like Dubai — so the community can finally look back and laugh.”
Police Scotland was approached for comment.
In their statement, Nevis Range, defended recent changes, saying that more than 50% of visitors now come from international markets, which has “reshaped demand across the business, including gondola usage, hospitality, whisky experiences, accommodation, retail and off-peak adventure activity”.
As well as the Dubai offering, it said work was already under way for “physical brand expansion” in Singapore, Italy and Switzerland.
It said this international expansion was “not a step away from Scotland” but a “reinforcement of Scotland”.
View towards Aonach Mor and the Grey Corries (Image: Jeff Mitchell)
Nevis Range added that, unlike other resorts, it was unable to rely on “taxpayer bail-out funding”.
“As a result, operating decisions must always be grounded in commercial discipline. Activities must have a clear and credible path to profitability, and the business cannot compete in areas where sustained losses are offset elsewhere by significant public subsidy.”
The company’s most recent accounts show a pre-tax profit of around £339,777 in the year to October 2024, following a £310,045 loss the previous year.
Auditors said that despite the improvement in the group’s financial position, “the net current liability position and the reliance on substantially achieving forecast levels of profits and cashflows indicate the existence of a material uncertainty which casts doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern”.
Nevis Range said that their problem was the change in winter conditions in recent years.
“Last season, despite intermittent summit snow, there was insufficient snow for uplift, insufficient build-up to construct a temporary get-on at Tower 4 of the Goose, and insufficient demand to justify the economics of full operations. These decisions were operationally unavoidable.
“As a result, Nevis Range continues to prioritise year-round activity, diversification and international demand rather than reliance on increasingly unpredictable winter conditions.”