Incoming!
19th February 2025
(Above) The Post Face of Coire Ardair. Anticipate this looking quite a lot blacker by the end of play tomorrow, Thursday. Mild and wet conditions are forecast for most the day, unfortunately.
(Above) Climbers on ‘Last Post’ in Easy Gully.
(Above) The approach to The Window in the Inner Coire of Coire Ardair. The Creag Meagaidh area was busy again with winter hillwalkers and climbers alike. The car park down at the A86 roadside was full again today.
(Above) The steep NNE-facing crags of the Inner Coire. Climbers queuing for ‘The Pumpkin’, the winter route in the right-angled corner in the centre of the photo.
(Above) The entrance to ‘Cinderella’, with ‘Glass Slipper’ just to its left. Climbers also observed on ‘The Wand’, ‘Diadem’ and ‘Longfellow’. Note the large cornices overhanging the entrance to ‘Cinderella’ as well as the one much further along that overhangs the upper section of this grade I/II gully.
(Above) The NNW-facing crags below Creag Meagaidh summit. Notable amount of drifting up high today with new windslab development building on the steep lee slopes in these and similar locations, but only above 1020m. Much better stability in most other places at lower altitudes where crusty snow or older windslab prevails.
All change on Thursday. Back to mild Atlantic weather with rain! Unsurprisngly, this means radical change for the snowpack too. Expecting wet snow instabilities in specific places where there was recent cold windslab (mainly above circa 1000m), with weakening cornices as well. Not a great combo! Cannot rule out minor full depth avalanches on the Post Face above 800m either. Did I mention the potential for falling ice? We have it reasonable quantities and with summit temperatures peaking at +3.5 degrees C by midday it is an objective hazard to keep at the forefront of your mind if in the vicinity of the crags.
Got a feeling there will be plenty of space in the car park tomorrow…
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Jimbo C
21st February 2025 6:19 pm
That should be your forecast. (Plenty of space in the car park tomorrow morning) Have a swell weekend everyone, you do a great job so keep it up
meagaidhadmin
22nd February 2025 12:06 pm
Hey, thanks, Jimbo!