Colder temperatures resume
15th December 2025
Colder temperatures have resumed overnight resulting in very firm snow. The greatest amounts are in steep north facing coires, ridge flanks and in patches on the plateau. Inevitably some of these snow fields are in steep locations and are combined with non existent runouts into boulders and icy or frozen turf.
Where snow remains unbroken the snow ice will be a joy to use crampons on, and there were quite a few parties out today making use of the conditions for winter skills or Mountain Rescue training. Correspondingly, the turf was widely frozen on the plateau with the odd patch of ice following overnight precipitation. Today’s conditions highlighted the Scottish winter climbers ethical paradox or requiring well frozen turf, and crags looking visibly “white”…
Similar conditions should manifest themselves tomorrow, with very firm snow and frozen ground from around 750 metres upwards. Strong winds are set to return.
A view West from the flanks of Cairn Gorm. Note the snow around the headwall of Coire Cas, Point Five Gully is also visible in Coire an t-Sneachda. Interestingly, in the area I found a couple of small borrow pits, the broken biotite and pegmatite being indicative of Quartz Diggers in years gone by. Apparently the best smoky quartz finds in the 1800’s were high on the plateau. One theory is that there were geodes and cracks at the top of the granite pluton and therefore a greater chance of mineral development.
The view down to the Ptarmigan Station – very different to a week ago.
Looking into Coire an Lochain. The ‘Great Slab’ is visible in the centre, a feature that would have been frequently obscured by deep snow in previous years. A couple of people are just visible on the top left on the edge of the plateau.
No need to worry about the turf here. The friction must have been suitably good today thanks to the cold conditions for this pair on the Link Boulder (Clach Bharraig). This is a particularly fine granite boulder and I often wonder about the journey it has been on, most likely cleaved out of a north facing coire and transported by the Late Devensian ice sheet… There is another fine boulder at around 800 metres in Coire Laogh Mor, but this isn’t exactly roadside.
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