A grim day in the hills.
29th December 2021
(Above) The main Coire Ardair path. Snow compacted by many hundreds of feet, a hard re-freeze then rainfall (for extra slickness) was an excellent recipe for divvy dancing and Laurel & Hardy-esque pratfalls today. One of the few occasions when the adjacent tussock grass, boulders, and deep rank heather had a greater allure, offering faster progress and waaay more secure footing. I have it on good authority that the path was in this condition (or worse) all the way up to Lochan a Choire at the head of Coire Ardair. Should soften up (or disappear?) on Thursday after the sustained thaw.
(Above) Snatched photo of the view up Coire Ardair, with the Post Face crags as a backdrop. Raining for most of the morning with some sleety snow over summits. The ‘tide mark’ in the snow at 620m on the sides of Coire Ardair delineates the boundary between the [lower] crusty snow and the dry softer snow which was eroded by strong and persistent SE winds on Christmas Day. Quite a lot of the superficial snow in the foreground and similar places is expected to disappear in the forthcoming wet and mild conditions.
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