Cold, Clear and Sunny

Afternoon Light - Cairngorm from Loch Morlich

 What a difference a day makes - The hills certainly look good - however only a thin cover of snow lies on rocks and boulders, so for ski touring - could be very expensive !!

Nick ascending Cairngorm - Spey Valley below

The Sgorans and beyond

A party ascending Cairngorm - Plateau and Macdui beyond

The Lhairig Ghru for Aviemore Railway station Bridge

fractures on North aspect in localised accumulation - ' a good weakness indicator'

Cold and Windy with little snow

Early Morning Northern Corries and Loch Morlich

The old snow pack remains bullet hard snow-ice with serious runouts for anyone that trips !! - We seem to have missed out on the recent snowfall which fell in other areas.

Coire an t Sneachda with Party below Trident Gullies

Climber ascending Jacobs Ladder - photo from Coire Rim

Snow showers

Snow showers, drifting and cold temperatures - accumulations of weakly bonded windslab have developed

Snow cover still sparse but further snow expected tonight and tomorrow

Lochain today

The Couloir

Very thin rime ice on the Lochain buttresses

Ice forming on small buttress features

The Vent

Cold clear and calm

Coire an t-Sneachda

Some of the main gully lines complete with firm neve

A few parties in Jacobs Ladder

A glazing of ice on upper buttresses

Cold, Sunny - solid snowpack

Looking across the Cairngorm Plateau toward Ben Macdui

Patchy conditions but more wintry conditions expected

Only the 'Ribs' left

Northern Corries from Glenmore

The thaw has officially ceased and will now get brick hard in the cooler conditions - all we need now is snow!

Another mild windy day

Heading up the twin burns with the Lochain behind

Rivers flowing beneath snowfields

The Lairig Ghru

Glide cracks developing

Coire an Lochain

Still windy over the tops

Looking across to Beinn Mheadhoin

Another breezy mild day but with less humidity in the air the snowpack seemed to be firmer.  

Mild and thawing at all levels

Looking South across the plateau

Coire and Sneachda today

Mist cleared by the afternoon

Large patches of snow remain on the plateau

A drying wind

 Looking up towards the Northern Corries.

 Ridges below 800 metres are mostly bare; however although very firm ski touring potential is still good above this altitude

The snowpack has dramatically firmed up since yesterday - views into Sneachter

Warm and Windy

Looking toward Coire an Lochain 

Snowpack is mopist but because it is so dense it is holding up well - still very good cover generally.

Ist day of 2013 - crisp and cold

Descending into Sneachda below Mess of Potage crag - very hard neve

Snow- ice pretty much coats the hills at present - making for some great looking conditions although buttresses are verglassed.

Rain then Snow on the Tops

The snowpack has depleted in the thaw, but temperatures dropped in the afternoon and it should all re-freeze. New snow with strong winds will produce some tricky avalanche conditions for the next day or so !

Blizzard conditions

Bleak weather with occasional clear spells

Snow fall for most of the day gusts of over 100mph on the tops

Freezing again by midday

Large Cornices above the crags -  Sneachda

Reports of good climbing conditions in the Corries, especially since the snowpack has re-frozen

Coire an Lochain

Wild and windy

Very strong winds with new snowfall which led to deep widespread accumulations of new snow in sheltered areas on Northerly aspects.  Now thawing at all levels with some rain but cold weather expected to return tomorrow

Cold and Icy

'Iced up" Northern Corries

Cornices above Northerly aspects - note collapse and avalanche release.

Great conditions continue with hard icy snow-ice throughout - firm for skiing with some good bits here and there ! - Serious run outs . minus 8 degrees C on the tops !

strong winds for next few days., but we will get off lightest in Northern Cairngorms regarding rainfall at all levels. Colder with snow on Saturday - very windy throughout.

Clear Sunny and Calm- a rarity!

Cairngorms morning reflection on Loch Morlich

Looking toward Aviemore Coire Chais Ski lift below

Hells Lum crag

Ski Tourers ascending Cairn Lochain

Climbers Fiachaill of Sneachda ridge

Cairngorm plateau

A White Christmas ! - here anyway

The Frosted Cliffs of Coire an Lochain

A Christmas Fly By by the RAF Rescue

Aladdins Buttress Coire an t Sneachda - with contemplating Ptarmigan

Breaching the cornice of Jacobs Ladder

Good firm conditions, snow-ice - chattering conditions on ski's ! - less crusty than previous days  but with icy paths. Hope you are all having a good Christmas, best wishes from the SAIS.