Back to Rain

Rain at all levels has soaked the snowpack. Taking todays observations was a rather damp affair.

Winter today!

It felt a bit more like the real thing today, although looking at the forecast it is unlikely to last!

Any ideas who made this track that we spotted?



Views of the crags on Aonach Mor

A bit more Wintery

Moderate overnight snow has deposited up to 50cm of fresh snow on high easterly aspects. This combined with some hoar frost and low teperatures made it feel quite wintery on the tops. A chilly looking John enjoys his sandwiches outside the ski patrol hut on Aonach Mor.

Not much new snow

This is a photo taken up the main ski lift on Aonach Mor at around 950m. It gives you an idea of the amount (how little!) fresh snow we got last night. The old underlying snowpack was just starting to freeze at this level.

Rain again

View looking up towards the Ben this morning. The snow line is going up fast!

Xmas Eve

The disgusting weather of last night has been replaced by slightly cooler conditions today with some light fresh snow accumulations. There are no significant new snow accumulations yet. Looks like a nice day in prospect for tomorrow for a pre diner stroll!

The cold settled conditions continue.

The cold and frosty conditions continue in Lochaber. Some great examples of surface hoar crystals were observed today (see picture). These very delicate crystals often form on the surface of the snowpack in cold and settled conditions. They are common in alpine areas, and when buried by subsequent snowfalls act as very weak layers. However as these crystals were observed around the Nevis Range car park, but not on the hill, they are unlikely to produce a significant avalanche hazard. One of the greatest hazards at the moment is a slip on some of the large areas of water ice which have formed on some hillsides.

Cold Nights

After a cold night, Monday was another sunny day on Ben Nevis. There is not much snow about, but what there is is very hard and icy. Water courses are starting to freeze in the frosty nights.

Limited snow cover on Ben Nevis

Unfortunately, it was a long way up Coire na Ciste before finding enough snow to dig a decent snowpit.

Snow is mainly confined to ledges and some of the easy gullies. No 2 and No 3 Gullies have snow runs below them as can be seen from these photos. Some ice streaks are present.

First day of the season

Today was the first day of avalanche observations in Lochaber. On the East face of Aonach Mor there is a reasonable amount of snow, but the buttresses are all black after some mild temperatures during the past few days. At higher altitudes the surface of the snowpack has frozen due to a slight overnight frost.

Reports coming soon!

The first report of the season will be out on Friday 14th December