Warm dry and sunny on the Tops

Looking toward Sneachda
Carn Etchachan, Shelterstone and Ben Macdui
The ridges of Fiacaill Coire an t Sneachda, Sron na Lairige and the Sgorans
Looking toward the Northern Corries from Cairngorm - Good snow-cover remains at plateau levels - heavy going in the new wet snow which is on the surface - but nonetheless a lovely day with good views at last.
Inverness Mountaineering Club members celebrating the clubs 60th year set of towards Coire an t Sneachda.

Blustery conditions

After Fridays glorious conditions today was a complete contrast. Strong winds with occasional snow showers made travel on skis a little more arduous!

Stunning conditions in the Highlands

Today's pit was dug East of the Great Slab in Lochain.
During the very warm period last weekend a large section avalanched at full depth on the slabs.

Looking across at the Lochain cliff tops.

Warm and sunny

A great day in the hills today. Many people were out and about enjoying the sunshine. Snow boarders head off for some off piste action

A telemark skier in Alladins Couloir

Great ski touring on the plateau

Shelter Stone crag and Etchachan.

Very mild conditions

Huge Cracks and crevasses have appeared on the Great slab in Lochain...it's only a matter of time...

Very mild conditions generally.

Sneachda today.

Clear at last!

Coire an t Sneachda

Looking toward Bhein Avon from Ciste Mhearad
Cairngorm plateau with Ben Macdui, Cairntoul and Sgur an Lochain Uaine and sh 1176

The snowpack is stable and spring like on the plateau getting softer as you get lower into the corries, but generally the snowpack is well bonded and stable throughout.

There is a lot of snow

And it just keeps snowing... This is the Ptarmigan bull wheel at the very top of the Cairngorm ski area. Some serious digging is needed to excavate the T bars!

Snow showers cleared

It was a pea souper this morning but visibility improved during the afternoon... Looking down the Chais

Doing a tap test on a NW aspect at 1030m.
Measuring snowpack temperatures every 10cm. There is still a significant steep temperature gradient.

Sunshine with light winds

A great day in the Cairngorms today, with blue skies and light winds. The ski area was very busy but it was fairly quiet in the Northern Corries. Walking conditions are pretty hard going though unless snow shoes or ski's are used.
Heavy snow forecast for tomorrow, see the high cirrus clouds moving in...

Mess of Potage

Fiacaill Buttress

Alladins Buttress
Spey valley under a blanket of snow.

Storm

Conditions today at 800 metres

Calm before the Storm !

Heading down Coire Raibert with Carn Etchachan beyond.
To Coire Raibert and the Cairngorm Plateau
Coire an t Sneachda

The weather is to be very wild for the next few days so it may be a while before we get conditions as good as todays

New snow

Winter is back...It has been snowing for most of the day above 800 metres and its due to get colder

Thawing and damp

Views looking into Sneachda

Cooler temperatures

Coire an t Sneachda has survived the warm thaw conditions of the last week or so - good firm snow and some ice in gullies remain - all is not lost!

Warm again friday but colder conditions are expected for next week

Windy and dry

Stability has further improved in the cooler temperatures. We did find a slush layer at depth but most of the water from the thaw has peculated through the snowpack

Good cover for off piste skiing on nice grippy snow.

Spring snow

Today was very pleasant compared to yesterday's conditions of winds gusting up to 113mph. It is still mild but this is what is left after the major thaw on Thursday.


Mess of Potage people on "Honey pot" and various other routes. There's a huge cornice to the left of the crag and over Jacobs ladder. Avalanche debris which happened during the major part of the thaw and came from the steep ground above.

Aladdin's Buttress with Patey's route looking interesting. Aladdin's mirror on the right short and sweet.
Coire an Lochain had some interesting looking creeping cracks below the buttress, there was also a lot of avalanche debris from the thaw on most steep slopes.

Winter is still here but watch out for those big saggy cornices and loose rocks!

Sunny, windy and warm

Looking across the Northern Corries and the Plateau from Cairngom summit - snow cover still good - awaiting the scene after tomorrows thaw !!

Historical avalanches

Situated South-West of the Cairngorms between the A9 and Glen Feshie is Gaick lodge in Glen Tromie. On New years eve in 1800 the original Gaick Lodge was hit by one of the UK's most historical avalanches. The remains of 5 men and their dogs were recovered eventually. They were at the time sleeping in the bothy which was completely covered and destroyed by the immense avalanche. On a recent visit we saw that several large avalanches had crossed the main track which leads you into the estate. You will find the full story of this incident in Blyth Wright and Bob Barton's book "A chance in a million"

Sunshine in the valley

Once again the Cairngorms were shorouded by clouds again but it did clear by the afternoon

Thick mist

No views today due to the snow showers and mist, but here's where we dug our pit on the South-East side of Cairngorm.