Mild day.

It was a mild day, but not too wet (by West coast standards that is). The rain was drizzle rather than heavy. At 1050 meters we found the top 15cm or so of the snowpack to be wet, but still dry and sub-zero underneath.  Plenty of cornices have come down recently. 

The camera lens was a bit wet by this point. However, avalanche debris from a cornice collapse can be seen in foreground on the left of the picture. Some substantial sections of cornice remain as in the background.  

Looking up the Nid ridge at about 1000m.

A brief view

I got a brief view from Aonach Mor today. The light was not great for pictures, but I think you can just about make out.

 A substantial cornice above Left Twin.

 Cornices all along the top of Coire an Lochan.

 Top of Easy Gully.

Climbers in Coire an Lochan. 

Snow then rain then snow.

After yesterday's snow and overnight rain at all levels there was quite a lot of water in the Allt a' Mhuilinn.  During the morning the freezing level dropped below the summits. 

Ben Nevis: NE Buttress

Wild day up the Ben with fresh snow down to around 300m. Lots of snow being blown around in the strong winds.

A more wintery day than yesterday on Ben Nevis.

After yesterday's rain at all levels, today's showers fell as snow above around 550 metres. 

Looking up into Coire na Ciste.

North East Buttress and Minus Face.

Damp day.

A mild and damp day. It was not quite a wet or as windy as I had thought it might be. However, it certainly was mild, plus five degrees on the top of Aonach Mor at midday.

 Looking up toward the Minus Face and the Douglas Boulder.

 Looking into Coire na Ciste. Avalanche debris can be seen centre left of the picture. This probably came down in the early hours of this morning as the temperature rose and the snow turned to rain. Fresh debris was also noted below Number 3 Gully, Number 4 Gully, Trident Buttress, Number 5 Gully and the Castle Gullies. 

Lots of water about, with the snowpack getting pretty wet. 

South Easterly winds causing extensive wind erosion from the East corries on Aonach Mor

Winter returns to upper Carn Mor Dearg and Ben Nevis.

Two Ptarmigan trying hard to stay camouflaged on snow patches.

Fresh snow on Ben Nevis.

Not the best of visibility on Aonach Mor.

Visibility on the upper slopes of Aonach Mor was rather poor today.  During the late morning, when I arrived at the north end of the summit plateau of Aonach Mor (1200m) rain had turned to snow.  

Another stormy day.

It was another wild and windy day in Lochaber. I went up the Ben. The freezing level was around 900 meters, so the band of precipitation which crosse the area was falling as snow at higher levels.  

 Looking over to Carn Dearg buttress from the CIC hut. There is actually a team at the base of the Curtain, I am not sure if they went up to climb it or just for a look, but shortly later we saw them heading back down the hill.

 Looking up to trident buttress.

Tower ridge up on the left from near the base of the Douglas Boulder.

After the storm

After yesterdays wild weather, today felt relatively settled. However, it was still too windy for the Nevis range gondola to run so I walked up from the bottom. There has been a fair bit of snow over the past 24 hours or so.However, with the strong winds large areas of the hill have been scoured. However, in sheltered locations the deposits of fresh snow tend to be quite deep. 

Fresh drifts at the bottom of the Goose T bar.

 In locations which have been sheltered from the strong winds such as the flat area pictured above or the Goose gully (pictured below) there tends to be quite significant deposits of fresh snow. The strong winds have densely packed this snow in, meaning that hopefully not too much will be lost in the that which is forecast over the weekend.

Wild day on the Ben.

It was a wild and windy day on the Ben. Although not heavy, snow fell continuously above about 700 meters through the day. The wind was from the South-East, and as usually the case when it is from that direction was very gusty.  There was lots of snow blowing about, and although many areas were scoured, there were some deep drifts of fresh about.

Heading up into Coire na Ciste. Unfortunately the camera stopped working shortly after this, so no pictures from within the Coire. It was pretty wild up there though with lots of snow blowing around.

Winter up the Ben

Looking towards Carn Dearg and Trident areas

Observatory Ridge

Cornices and scarp slopes.

Visibility was only very slightly better than yesterday. However, today I had the rope with me, which allowed me a closer look at some of the scarp slopes and cornices in Coire an Lochan. 

The results of a tap test at the pit site. Although some clean shears were observed, a bit more effort was required to cause failure than yesterday. The snowpack has somewhat consolidated in fluctuating temperatures.

There are some pretty substantial cornices about like this one near the top of Left Twin. Fortunately this one can be easily out flanked on the left.

Start of a new season.

Not great visibility on the tops, but I could see that there were some substantial cornices about.

 Coire Dubh. 

Not great visibility on the hill today, but better than the past few days. I had a good look around on Aonach Mor to get a feeling for where the snow is. There is pretty good cover on the summit plateau, and on the upper half of the ski area. The back coires are slowly filling in, but not enough there yet for good skiing. 

End of the season?

With milder temperatures forecast next week it is looking likely this may be the end of the avalanche forecasting season, and what an up and down season it has been. As seen in the pictures there is still plenty of snow at higher levels, although it all felt pretty sticky and stable today. 

There is quite a distinctive snow line at the moment around 950 metres

 Good cover remains on the summit runs.

Since last weekend there has been a fair bit of snow blown into the top of Coire an Lochan. Note the fresh cornices, some of which are likely to collapse when they begin to thaw properly.

Still looking wintery over in Ben Nevis. 

Winter clings on.....

 A better day for the competitors for the British Downhill championships at Nevis range today. Might not be so good tomorrow.

Plenty of snow at higher levels.

 Some fresh cornices as well.

 The view East over the Grey Coires towards the Cairngorms in the distance.

 A ski tourer enjoying good cover at 1200 metres with Ben Nevis in the background.

Carn Mor Dearg and Ben Nevis as the first of the days snow showers starts brewing. 

It was a lovely morning, but with some showers during the afternoon. There is not much snow left below about 800m, but above about 1050m there is good cover. 

The start of the British Downhill Champs today at 650m. Probably a lot snowier than most folk would have expected! 

Still winter on the tops.

Although feeling pretty summery down in the glens, with temperatures generally below freezing, and reasonable snow cover it still feels quite wintery on the tops. 

 Looking over to Carn Mor Dearg and Ban Nevis.

The South side of Coire an Lochan holding plenty of snow. 

There was some pleasant sunshine first thing, as seen here on the Goose ski run.

Winter in May

Snowpack has receded up the hill since last weekend. Cold wind today with a very light but insignificant amount of new snow. Looks like the forecast for the rest of the weekend is good