In reply to Cuthbert:
Agreed - they did well to open it as early as they did and it didn't stop people who wanted to from climbing.
We drove up from Aviemore at about 6.30am on Sunday through some of the densest snow showers I have ever driven in. The two big bends (at the Sugarbowl and Coire na Ciste car park) are tough when snowy in a normal car without chains or winter cars, and there's been times in the past when the road has been open and I've wished I've never started up it, with cars being abandoned all over the place and spinning wheels compacting the snow into an icy sheet.
The most dangerous bit of winter climbing still often feels like the drive to me, but I'm a wimpy motorist (and climber, for that matter...).
D.