Winter Returns!

31st March 2022

Today was proper winter conditions.  Heavy snow, minus 6 degrees summit temperature, Northerly winds 20-30mph, significant drifting and poor visibility. Probably not surprisingly, I didn’t see a single person until I was descending back through the ski area.  Views were non existent this morning, but here is a flavour of the conditions.

The snow gates at Glenmore at an altitude of 340m.

A surprising amount of fresh snow at the Cairngorm Ski car park, an altitude of 630m. 

The old and the new snow.  This photo taken at 750m in Coire Cas.

Rime Ice on the tor/cairn at 1141m at the top of Fiachaill a Choire Chais.  Rime is the only snow/ice feature that ‘grows’ into the prevailing wind.  Todays wind was mostly Northerly and there was significant amounts of fresh snow drifting onto Southerly aspects. 

Unusually, the summit of Cairngorm was deserted.  Todays snow profile was on the South side of Cairngorm at an altitude of around 1200m.  No photos I’m afraid as nothing to see in the white landscape and drifting snow – good navigation skills were definitely required!

 

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