You see it, then you don’t.
25th January 2025
(Above) Lochan a Choire in Coire Ardair, with the crags of the Post Face largely obscured by snowfall and spindrift. The Inner Coire – the site of the today’s formal observations – was far worse as I couldn’t even see any visible evidence of the crags that loom up at close quarters either side of the ascent to The Window. Cold, snowy & blowy and felt like proper winter today – and really quite enjoyable between the showers when visibility improved, albeit briefly.
(Above) Allt Coire Ardair, the wee burn that drains out of Coire Ardair. Sufficient drifting at 550m to begin to engulf this watercourse.
(Above) Heavily edited photo of Coire a Chriochairein’s E aspects this morning. The wide gully centre of shot produced Size 1 cornice triggered avalanche a little before 10.30am. Ran about 70-80m down the gully but is difficult to see due to the poor overhead conditions and spindrift. Had a better view of it through binos but conditions declined by the time I got the camera out. Poor stability here and in similar locations today and tomorrow, too. Stability was just about OK below 900m today but decidely worse above this altitude. The skyline in the photo is at 1020m.
(Above) Newly drifted, sculpted snow at 570m adjacent to the path in Coire Ardair. Looking beautiful in the sun.
(Above) ESE facing ridge flank on Sron a Ghoire being loaded with windslab. Bottom of the picture is at 650m. We call this snow accumulation zone Bumslide Gully, which isn’t obvious in the photo as the shallow easy-angled feature – just left of centre of the photo – has been drifted over. One or two similar locations below 900m got double helpings of drifted snow due to quirks of topography and the channelling of local winds. Drifting continued here right through the day. Stability left of centre is poor…but good just to the right in the shaded area where scouring had done its work. Being able to spot where stability will be poor or good – often in close proximity – can make the difference between having a good day in the mountains…or a very, very bad day!
(Above) Rest & be thankful. Looking into lower Coire Ardair. 20cm of new snow on the path today, with deeper drifts in places, so good enough for access on skis but access only.
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