Due to the changes in gradient on the route up the mountain, the angle of the floor of the funicular seemed barely ever to be level when I went up it. Also, the queues were huge, because it's the only major lift up the mountain from the base, and the tows from the bottom were closed due to there only being a thin covering of snow when I was there.
The impact on the mountain of the ski resort is almost certainly less than that of any of the major ski resorts I've been to in europe. Apart from the funicular, it's all T-bars and button tows and no chair lifts or cable cars, so the amount of construction on the mountain is a lot less. As for wildlife, it's the only place I've seen a Ptarmigan (the bird, not the top station), but that might be because I probably make less noise skiing down a mountain than when I'm walking. It also seems to be closed due to bad weather more often than the european resorts...
Saying that, I had a great time spending 3 days skiing there, and my kids skied without complaining in winds only just below the threshold of the level at which they close the resort. (I've never spent so much time skiing in goggles rather than sunglasses.) My recommendation would be to stay at the Cairgorm Lodge Youth Hostel, which is out of town, (book a taxi from the station, because there aren't many in town) but on the route for the buses to and from the resort. I went there a couple of years ago, they were friendly and the food was pretty good.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
