Sunshine & Showers – to shut the ‘gate’
16th April 2016
That’s it for this year -Â one last run up Cairn Liath to shut the ‘gate’…….
The ‘Gate’. A somewhat redundant gate from a former era. Lower slopes of Cairn Liath.
A strange feature on lower slopes of Cairn Liath –  close to a handy snow patch for those days when a full stagger  to the  ‘plateau’ eludes!
Sron a Ghoire – with a dusting of fresh above 800. A few snowfields remaining on its highest slopes
Creag Meagaidh,Coire Ardair – from Raeburn’s Gully (L of shot) Easy Gully (C) with Staghorn ramp leading to the The 2 Pipes (R)
An end of term feel to things – although still wintry enough on the tops
Sunshine  with a few pulsing snow showers passing thru Loch Laggan to end the home run
The obligatory pooch shot! Snowflakes on return thru the birch wood…..
and nary a glance back!
…well almost!
so once again – it’s a goodnight from ‘us’. Goodnight!
See you next year – many thanks for all your comments & support and  to the various supporting organisations from SNH here at Creag Meagaidh to Mountain Equipment and Goretex et al who help keep us dry and ‘warm’.
Comments on this post
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Helen Rennie
17th April 2016 10:00 am
Thank you for all your educational and interesting reports and photos. Some days obtaining them must have been pretty hard going, but they were appreciated, and made great reading from a cosy house in the evening ! Have a great summer.. when and if it arrives !
Helen
meagaidhadmin
17th April 2016 10:15 am
Many thanks for your kind comments Helen – see you next winter!
Steven Cham
17th April 2016 3:41 pm
Well done ! You did a fantastic job ! Amazing going there every single day in the winter, showing the conditions on the mountain to all readers, many thanks for your hard work ! Have a great summer !
meagaidhadmin
21st April 2016 6:21 pm
Thanks, Steven. Yes, definitely time to rest the legs! Thanks to you and all the others out there in internetland for supporting our blog this season.
coaster
17th April 2016 7:20 pm
I have also really enjoyed reading your blog throughout the winter and I have made a point of reading your posts on a daily basis. Great work and I echo Helens comments above,enjoy the summer but let’s hope it is not anything like 1976 for those snow patch observers out there…..
Cheers.
meagaidhadmin
21st April 2016 6:24 pm
Hi Mark,
The snow patches arouse interest don’t they!
Glad you enjoyed the blog, and many thanks for your kind comment.
Keith Jones
18th April 2016 2:07 pm
And many thanks from me too! I was one of the pair you came across on Tuesday 26 January on a “more minging than minging day” along with Phil Dowthwaite (the IFMGA). It was good to meet you and exchange words on such a poor day which led to Phil and I just going out walking. We managed 2 good climbs over the next days before storm Gertrude rudely interrupted our adventures! Enjoy your summer.
meagaidhadmin
21st April 2016 6:28 pm
I remember the day well, Keith! Bumping into you two certainly lifted my mood on what was a pretty awful weather day. You guys seemed so cheerful despite the poor overhead conditions. Glad to hear you eventually got some climbing out of your trip north.
Many thanks for your comment.
Jon Eden
19th April 2016 8:58 pm
A nice shot to end with guys. Not long to December now!
meagaidhadmin
21st April 2016 6:30 pm
Thanks, Jon.
I’m not quite finished with the winter yet. Looking forward to a little low key ski touring in the Cairngorms to round off this particular winter season.
Mark Fagg
20th April 2016 10:24 am
Have enjoyed reading your blog very much. Very educational and would very much enjoy a day out to see your work first hand. Looking forward to December.
meagaidhadmin
21st April 2016 7:02 pm
Pleased you get something useful out of the blog, Mark.
Some years ago we did trial having members of the climbing community accompany us ‘doing our thing’ but found it tended to compromise our very particular objectives when out on the hill. Interestingly, the take up wasn’t great and when we did have someone riding shotgun we always seemed to end up teaching, which was great for the ‘guest’ but slowed us down a lot. We were also conflicted by insurance liability issues so abandoned the trial after a couple of years.
David
21st April 2016 9:16 pm
Hi – another super reporting season from – IMHO – the best of the SAIS crew…really enjoyed reading the blogs and the explanations you’ve provided along the way, and best wishes for the coming break. Is it too early to look forward to the reports for the 2016/17 season 🙂 David
meagaidhadmin
22nd April 2016 12:24 am
Hi David, Great to hear from you again. From our point of view it felt like a long winter this season and at times quite a difficult and stressful one.
Really pleased you like the blog postings. It’s always an interesting and enjoyable challenge after a day at ‘Meggie attempting to convey what snow/weather/hill conditions are like, or explaining some technical snow matter so that it is understandable to our varied audience.
Best wishes.
The ‘Meggie boys (I’d insert an emoticon here if I knew how!)
Douglas Spalding
28th April 2016 1:43 pm
All the best, apart from the excellent technical analysis, your willingness to accommodate examination of certain parts of the crags for us inquisitive weekend climbers is more than much appreciated. Also shots of the mutt and banter well appreciated. Thanks for helping us all keep safe and I look forward to tuning in again soon!
meagaidhadmin
28th April 2016 7:53 pm
Thanks, Douglas.
Glad you enjoy the content mix of the blog.
For the record, although we may post some photos of crags & gullies you’ll notice we make few if any comments on actual climbing conditions nowadays. The consensus amongst all SAIS forecasters is that winter climbing conditions are now very well covered on various on-line winter mountaineering forums and commercial guiding blogs.
In other words, “we do exactly what is says on the tin” : give avalanche information!
Have a great summer. (Looking out of the window right now, that may not be any time soon!)