Snow and sleet over the tops.

Mild conditions at present with a forecast for cooler temperatures and more snow down to 600 metres during the early part of next week.   The main event at present is the potential for the Great Slab in Coire an Lochain to release.  Note the large crevasse  developing below the buttresses.

Mild with a spring snowpack

Looking down Coire Raibert with Ben Macdui in the distance

Coire an t-Sneachda still holding on to some large snow fields and snow filled gullies.

Coronation wall and the Cas Head Wall

Warm, Sunny but Very Windy

Looking into Coire an t Sneachda 

Recent avalanche debris due to cornice collapse below cliffs

diminishing snowpack

The pictures do not tell the whole story of course - in this case the winds on the plateau were storm force South-Westerly and up to 80mph - The snowpack is very soft due to warm temperatures, mainly surface instabilities on steeper slopes, progressively getting worse as the temperatures rose during the day. Still very good snowcover on the plateau.

Very windy - becoming milder.

Heading toward the saddle - a frozen Loch Avon below.

A lone skier heading toward Cairngorm Summit on the South side

Coire an t Sneachda with large cornices overhanging slopes

Generally a very good snow cover but winds getting increasing stronger made progress quite difficult later in the day.

Winter still hanging on!

A glimpse of the Cairn at Summit of Fiachail a Choire Chais

New snow on all aspects above 950 metres, thinly covering many rocky areas though. Very little wind, quite muggy !. Could not see enough to get an idea of cover on the plateau, but would expect it to be quite good. Very soft snow, some surface releases on steep slopes.

New Snow on the Tops

Looking South toward the Saddle 

New accumulations of deep snow on East through South to South-West aspects, in steep and convex  places especially, this is unstable. A very soft weak layer at around 60cm depth. Elsewhere though the snow is very good.

April Blizzards and Whiteout Conditions

 Navigating in a whiteout on the Cairngorm Plateau

Instabilities in the snowpack on a South-East aspect at 1100m

Winter Saturday on Cairngorm

Summit temperatures on Cairngorm were still below freezing on Saturday morning and it was windy.   Failures were identified in the surface windslab during field observations.  

In exposed locations snow was being transported and redistributed in the strong South-West winds.

Cracking underfoot below. Strong winds and significant snow forecast for Saturday evening and into Sunday. Still fantastic ski touring conditions. Skiable snow right to Cairngorm Car Park.

Possibly milder during the coming week and the prospect of more snow next weekend!

Light winds and sunshine

Deep drifts have developed on Southerly aspects after recent snowfall

Looking towards  Beinn Mheadhoin

Good cover on the plateau

Looking West from Cairngorm Summit

Still looking wintry in the Corries

A change in the weather

 10mph winds first thing this morning and by mid afternoon nearly 60mph.

Billowing clouds over the Cairngorms as winds increase

My skis were soon buried from drifting snow!

Intense sunlight during the morning

       

 The overall snow cover is still very good for ski touring , although variable and a little sluggish in places.

Looking up towards Coire an t-Sneachda, some nice large basins of snow.

Avalanche debris from the previous day below jacobs ladder and the central gully area.  Weak sugar like facetted grains are still within the snow pack presenting snowpack weaknesses especially in areas of steep and convex terrain.

Winter is still very much here !

Snowpack cracking underfoot - a sure red flag weakness sign - W aspect 1100m

Coire an T Sneachda - White Out conditions on plateau

Drifting

Still very cold temperatures with a low of minus 7.9 C on the tops today, winds were stronger than of late with drifting down to 600m

Wintry and Cold

Coire an t Sneachda - a fresh covering of light new snow

Occasional clear spells.

Winds have been very light and a few centimetres of new snow is lying on a firm base.    

Light winds and sunshine

Very quiet; two climbers head up to Mess of Potage.  Large cornices overhang the corries

Carn Etchachan and the Shelter stone looking very wintry

Avalanche debris below this bulging NW slope on Beinn Mheadhoin

Cloud cleared during the morning

 Looking West across the plateau to Coire an t-Sneachda

Overcast and Wintry

Skiing down the North Ridge of Cairngorm - Strath Nethy and Abernethy Forest beyond

Clear, Sunny and relatively warmer on the tops !

Coire an t Sneachda from Lochain summit

Fiachaill buttress in background

Large cornices overhanging central gullies and Runnel areas Coire an t Sneachda

Coire an Lochain

Cold and sunny

Coire an Lochain

Cornices and suface instabilities a NW aspect at 525m

Deep banks of snow in Allt Mor Burn