A blustery day

Its been another mild and windy day with occasional rain showers... very spring like apart from the 90 mph gusts over the tops.

Spring ?! Warm and Windy

Northern Corries
Coirrie an t Sneachda
Very dry winds have reduced snowpack but it remains fairly dense and compact - good cover throughout.

Warm and Windy

Coire Lochain
Coire an t Sneachda
Snowpack is pretty saturated with many cornices collapsing and triggering surface avalanches.

Otherwise the snowpack is generally stable. Horrible weather tomorrow then cooling on friday with freezing levels at 500m - hopefully the thaw will not not go to deep.

A Change in the Weather !

Large cornice over Jacobs ladder climb Coire an t Sneachda
Clouds pouring into Sneachda

Snowpack has improved a lot in stability but some weaknesses remain good cover on the plateau.

Wet weather and very warm for tomorrow !

Drifting

This firm chalky windslab was sitting on a weak facet layer at 930m on a NW aspect.

Strong winds and drifting have continued in the Cairngorms for most of the day.

Another stormy day

Clear skies elsewhere but the Cairngorms have been shrouded in this billowing mass of spindrift and storm clouds for the whole day!

The storm arrived.

The storm was at its most active overnight with heavy snowfall and winds of over 90mph.
Heavy drifting in Coire na Ciste this morning

Poor viz - Big Storm Coming!

Storm Force winds developing over Northern Cairngorms.

Very poor visibility today - lots of new snow and windslab build up - this seemed to be well bonded low down in the moist and warmer conditions - high up though large cornices loom !

Fine day on Cairngorm

Lighter winds and sunny weather gave good conditions on the tops. Excellent snow cover on the Cairngorm plateau. Soft cornices and deep powder snow in the corries require care.

Cold, Snowy and Windy

Strong winds with much drifting snow gave very unpleasant conditions in the Northern Corries

Conditions in Coire an t Sneachda - No current avalanche activity noted in the corries. Very poor vis -

tech problems uploading clip - no image today sorry

Life as an avalanche forecaster

Sometimes we can't see a great deal but we try our best...

Blizzard conditions on the hill today; snowfall for most of the day accompanied by strong Southerly winds.

A day for Avalanches

After last night's stormy weather and all of the avalanche activity it turned into a pleasant day.
There have been several natural and human triggered avalanches today in the Chais headwall area and Northern Corries. This photo is of a triggered avalanche below the Fiacaill Buttress with an unpleasent run out through the rocks.

The large crown wall at the top of the Goat Track.
The debris from the triggered avalanche on the goat track this morning. Two people were carried down.

Precipitation arrived during the afternoon.

Precipitation clouds build over the Northern Corries as the expected front arrives from the South-East. Significant snow is expected during Friday night.

A Sunny Day !

Coire an t Sneachda from 1141m cairn
Carn Etchachan
Hells Lum
Bein Mheadhoin from Stac an Fharaidh
A good cold day with great conditions for climbing and skiing ( although a bit firm- just enough grip exists on the surface)

Warm Windy - Poor Viz

Northern Corries from Loch Morlich in afternoon
A much warmer day with no rain has improved conditions - All gone soft again today with another re-freeze for tomorrow !

Soft weak layer

As the winds increased on Monday a firm slabby layer developed. This overlies the soft snow beneath leading to snow pack weaknesses.
In this photo you can see the mixture of blue snow ice and windslab deposits. (Mess of Potage and Jacobs Ladder)
A tap test revealing the weaker soft layer.

A dry day in North Cairngorm

Moody looking conditions over South Cairngorm and Beinn Mheadhoin

Less windy and cooler

Spindrift blows across the Fiacaill Coire an t-Sneachda
The icy conditions underfoot left someone with a broken ankle.Alladins Buttress today

Stormy weather.

A real mixed bag of weather in the last 24 hours. Heavy snowfall, winds of up to 114mph, then the temperature rose quickly by 6 degrees C during early afternoon, leading to rain at all levels.

Blizzards and Windy

Slab release - blocks on test slope at 750m

Conditions before Snow arrival

Strong winds and drifting snow produced weak slab

WET!

Looking into Coire an t Sneachda

Buttresses getting black - Blizzards and colder temperatures on the way though

Very windy - Bullet hard snow !

Snowpack has re-frozen everywhere and is solid, very small areas of thin new snow can be found on East aspects - If you can stand up in the wind (gusts over 100mph today) great conditions

Windy and Damp

Fiacaill of Sneachda
Trident Gullies and Aladdins Buttress
Snowpack remained pretty good even though it warmed up in the day - slabby in places but generally avoidable but - the slab was very weakly bonded and would be pretty spooky if it acheived depth - snow-ice is good - getting colder so will re-freeze once again !

Windy and dry

Lochain this afternoon
Drifting took place mainly during the morning. Most of the new accumulations were in sheltered areas, as it was too windy for it to settle anywhere else! Today's pit was dug just below the top of the Cas Headwall where there was a significant depth of weakly bonded new slab which ran right around the rim of the Coire.
Above the Chais headwall.

Bands of cloud

Various bands of cloud affected visibility in the Cairngorms today, maybe it will clear eventually!

Cloud inversion

Stunning conditions on the hill today...Carn Etchachan and the Shelter stone.
Todays pit was on a South aspect
Fiacaill Buttress looking good

Great day to be in the hills

Great conditions in the Cairngorms
Kite surfer heading up to Cainrgorm summit.

Good all round conditions

Looking over to Beinn MheadhoinCoire an t-Sneachda looking good
Fiacaill Buttress

Cold Clear and Sunny

Hells Lum
Cairngorm Plateau
Looking toward Creag Meagaidh

Good Winter Conditions

Beinn Mheadhoin from Cnap Coire na Spreidhe
Good conditions continue with firm icy snow everywhere -

Weather improving for the next days too.