Cloud magnets
16th April 2022
(Above) There was a ‘postcards & candyfloss’ vibe to the weather down in Glean Spean this morning but it was distinctly less pleasant in the enveloping cloud above 900m on Beinn a Chaorainn’s NW shoulder. A keen SE wind, too, up high. The view south from the NW shoulder of Beinn a Chaorainn. Naturally, the cloud base lifted to near summits as we were exiting the hill!
Creag Meagaidh NNR car park was very busy and most of the roadside laybys were full with Easter hill-goers’ cars first thing this morning. If you’d have stayed low you’d have enjoyed, dare I say it, a ‘warm’ day? 6° C. at 900m though, and it felt much colder in the wind, so bear this in mind when packing your rucksack for a day on the hill in the present conditions.
(Above) A view towards the NE-facing side of the East Ridge of Beinn a Chaorainn. See map below for orientation. I’ve outlined the profile of the ridge in yellow for clarity. It’s a bit of a rock scramble in its lower reaches but there was snow on the summit exit slopes approaching the 1052m spot height.
The snowpack is now very patchy. There are some larger snow beds on the Creag Meagaidh and Beinn a Chaorainn summit areas, steeper N to SE-facing aspects above 850m and a few gullies down to 720m in Coire Ardair. Brown/tan hillsides and rock predominate.
(Above) Re. Previous photo. The arrow denotes the location of the camera and the direction it was pointing.
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