Cornices…
6th December 2025
Following last night’s wild weather it seemed prudent to visit the coire rim of Coire an t-Sneachda once again. The area around “Windy Col” readily collects snow on South-Easterly winds and there was no sign of my snow profile site from the previous day.
Snow overnight had been subject to heavy drifting, despite the storm force winds. With a maximum gust of 104 mph recorded on Cairn Gorm overnight, it would be an obvious assumption that any snow had been blasted clear of the mountains. Paradoxically, plenty of snow had accumulated around the coire rim and some large and fragile looking cornices have appeared.
For those of a meteorological persuasion these sticky accumulations of humid or moist windslab and cornices represent a visual cue as to the difference between the Dry and Wet Bulb freezing levels.
These cornices will present the greatest hazard as we go into tomorrow. Fresh unsupported cornices can be seen around ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ in particular, and will no doubt also be around ‘The Vent’ in Coire an Lochain. These will present a persistent hazard, with an ongoing threat of collapse exacerbated by the onset of rain.
An altogether moist looking picture from the summit of Cairn Gorm this morning.
A climber at the top of ‘The Mess of Pottage’, Coire an t-Sneachda. Localised accumulations of snow are present in the foreground while cover can be seen to be patchy at lower elevations.
Fresh and unstable cornices are present, pictured here at the top of ‘Jacob’s Ladder’. A group from the University of Stirling Mountaineering Club are wisely walking the other side of the rocks. As the SAIS Senior Forecaster from Creag Meagaidh area always says – never trust a cornice!
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