General Situation // Scottish Ski & Winter Activity Report // Winterhighland

ROAD UPDATE: A93 Cairnwell Pass snow gates have been closed at Braemar, assuming Spittal Gates will follow shortly! Snowing quite heavily at Cockbridge at posting. CairnGorm ski road has been closed since early afternoon.

Check www.snowgatecameras.co.uk AM.

Evening update:

The clearing skies of Wednesday in the wake of Storm Chandra were replaced once again by overcast skies with varying amounts of snow falling. Glenshee and the SE Cairngorms has seen by far the most snow in the past 36 hours, but on CairnGorm today though theoretical falling totals were quite slight, strong SE winds undergoing topographic and katabatic wind acceleration gave Storm Force winds on CairnGorm blasting snow from Southern aspects and plateau areas into the Northern Corries.

The result of that was the funicular and ski road were defeated by drifting snow by early afternoon, and visibility was appalling on the Cas Tow by afternoon. General wind speeds are forecast to be a good deal stronger on Friday, so it is likely to be a slow start on CairnGorm with the ski road likely to need a lot of work AM. The drifting maybe sustained enough that it just is not a goer, so check updates AM. It does mean natural snowfields that form some of the classic runs on CairnGorm continue to load. A significant volume of snow was moving down the WIndy Ridge this afternoon. For returning to the Ciste Carpark, the Laogh Mor Return fences look good, but there is a sizable gap in coverage about the fenceline out of the Coire due to scouring of windward aspects. If CairnGorm opens on Friday it is unlikely any uplift will be available above the Cas Tow.

At Glenshee the wind was not as severe, but was strong enough to keep moving substantial amounts of snow around and snow kept falling for much of the day on Thursday too. At dawn there was around 6 to 8cm of wet snow at road level, radar suggested twice that higher up, particularly to the East of the A93. Over the past 24 hours in total, between 12 and 16cm has fallen at lower levels and towards the far NW of the ski area, while the higher terrain around Glas Maol has seen somewhere in the region of between 22 to 28cm of further snowfall.

Both wind, snow and drifting curtailed uplift to the roadside lifts and for a time the Cairnwell T-bar, but it was fairly rowdy up on that ridge! Machines and engineering team continue to work on Storm Recovery from mid-week, but there is massive drifts to deal with in places as they attempt to push out and up from the currently open terrain. Even at Sunnyside level, cover is becoming extensive beyond the fences on West aspects Sunnyside is heading towards ride anywhere cover.

Scattered snow showers coming into from the North Sea are set to increase in frequency, extent and intensity overnight, sustained heavy snowfall for the SE Cairngorms and snow more widely daytime Friday and overnight into Saturday.

With a freshening wind though the A93 Cairnwell Pass and A939 Lecht Pass were open at update, that may well change overnight given the forecast and that the FL is now below the lower slopes, meaning snow is drifting below carpark level.

With strong SE winds and heavier snow forecast for Friday, Glencoe is looking like the least risky bet for Friday as SE winds affect there least and there is no high level road to deal with.
Glencoe was open to the top with the full on mountain vertical of 1400ft, with Rannoch Glades, the Rock Garden (the boulderfield between Rannoch Glades and the Main Basin), the Main Basin itself, Happy Valley and Etive Glades seeing action on wind packed fresh snow. Plateau Poma run has considerably improved since the weekend, as is the uptrack, but other things are somewhat back to front with snow on the wrong side of fences given the sustained East based airflow!

The Lecht has caught a lot of snow at the top of the hill, less on the steeper section of the main side runs, but lots on the Buzzard. Machines were working to even out the snow cover. Buzzard side is loading across the hillside. All 3 eastern areas have good beginner options.

All facilities at Nevis Range have been closed since Monday 5th January, including the base area. There is no lift assisted access to Aonach Mor for tourers or winter climbers at this time.

:: Glencoe Sledge Park

The Sledge Park at the Plateau Cafe is in excellent condition! It is advisable to arrive before 2pm at the latest for sledging to get a decent amount of time on the hill. First chair up at 9am, last chair up at 3.45pm and last chair down at 4pm. Sledgers keep in mind, the Access Chair will be busier at the end of weekend days with snowsports underway.

• top of page •

:: England Club Fields

Weardale was able to operate the lower tow on Wednesday, but one of the club fields were able to operate on Thursday. Some snow is expected overnight and on Friday morning, so Weardale will have a look in the morning. At Raise the wind direction unfortunately scoured the Poma slope!

For both Weardale and Allenheads, you need to join the club with a season pass, these are still available for both at this time.

Please check club access rules / availability if not a club member / pass holder.

Weardale: https: //skiweardale.com/ .
Allenheads: http://ski-allenheads.co.uk/ .
Yad Moss: https: //yadmoss.co.uk/ .
Raise: https: //www.ldscsnowski.co.uk/ .

• top of page •

:: Mountain Weather

At 6pm in the West at the Glencoe SSC hut (850m) the temperature was -2.7°c, no wind data due to icing. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was also -0.8°c at 7pm. At Base level (366m) it was +1.6°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -4.4°c. The Met Office station was reporting a South wind at 31 gusting 358mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was -0.4°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +3.3°c.

In the East the Met Office Summit AWS on CairnGorm reported -4.8°c, with a Storm Force South Easterly at a mean of 57 gusting 68mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 7pm was +3.1°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS (3061ft /934m) reported a temperature of -2.9°c, with a South Easterly at a mean of 38 gusting 59mph.

• top of page •

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

Friday looks likely to see more organised snowfall, once again,, heavier and most persistent towards the SE Highlands, particularly later in the day and continuing overnight into Saturday morning. Wind speeds will also increase during the day, blizzard conditions setting in at height. SE 30 gusting 45 to 50mph, but gusts over 70 to 80mph likely on and downslope of the Cairngorm Plateau and may increase further (katabatic wind acceleration gave Storm Force winds on CairnGorm on Thursday and substantial drifting to go with it). Between -1 and -3°c at Munro Level.

Indications for Saturday are for snow showers, around -2 to -3°c at Munro Level, with moderating SE winds, but gusts to 50mph likely in prone locations particularly during snow. More snowfall towards the SE Cairngorms, more showery for Glencoe and the Lecht, and Glencoe may catch some brighter or sunny spells.

Over the coming days a similar pattern to pre Storm Chandra looks likely, FL bouncing around between slightly below and slightly above the lower slopes, wind generally from the SE quadrant and speeds fluctuating. A marked lull looks possible at some point this weekend, probably overnight into the first part of Sunday on current projections. At least if the winds do fall away on Saturday night, it should be a swift opening on Sunday.

The MWIS update yesterday ended with a note that there is scope for widely colder conditions towards mid February, though today notes detail very uncertain. With 850hpa level temperatures giving a spread of >20°c by the end of the runs, the direction of travel in the longer term is just about anything that is physically possible for Highland Scotland in mid February could happen!

• top of page •

:: Webcams and Weather Stations

Lowther Hill: Leadhills webcam is online (24/7). A power cut affected the camera, it is back online, but some fogging of the lens is apparent on top of bouts of actual fog. This should clearup soon with the camera powered up.

GLENCOE: All mountain webcams online and the first updated images are from the Top of the Access Chair shortly after 7am, other cams come on by 8am. The mid mountain weather station wind direction is not working, other data valid.

• top of page •