Creag Meagaidh Blog & Mountain Info

Wintry encore

23rd February 2024

(Above) Coire Ardair and the crags above the lochan up at the ‘business end’ of this glacial trough. Wintry again today though not as profoundly so as Thursday. Superficial snow cover remains with much deeper drifts in favoured accumulation zones above 850m. Interesting change in character of the snow either side of the 850m contour line: noticeable early stage consolidation below this altitude but with weaknesses preserved by cold temps higher up. The sun is starting to do its thing on the snow now too, with a little roller ball activity noted on south aspects in Coire Chriochairein.

(Above) The Inner Coire of Coire Ardair and The Window. Ankle to knee-deep snow in the Inner Coire today. The keen-eyed will have noticed some avalanche debris tell-tales in the photo…

(Above) Inset of the above. Two (or 3?) cornice triggered size 1 avalanches coming from the steep NNE-facing crags and gullies. Came down sometime in the early hours or early morning. One of the avalanches may have been divided by some terrain features into two discrete debris fans – difficult to tell even when I went up there to poke around in it.

(Above) Up-close-and-personal with the snow-laden NNE-facing crags and gullies of the Inner Coire. ‘Cinderella’ is the gully nearest the camera and shows traces of recent avalanche debris. The photo has had quite a lot of post-production work done on it to get some contrast as the light was terrible when I got there and effectively cloaked the avalanche debris I’d spotted from afar.

If venturing out tomorrow you’ll need to keep your ‘avalanche eyeballs’ peeled at higher altitudes since new windslab development will have all but ceased but older weaker stuff will still be in place on higher lee areas. Many of them will be overhung by weak cornices, too, comme ca:-

(Above) The cornice line above ‘Cinderella’ in the Inner Coire. Fairly recently formed and weak.