A path less trodden.
30th December 2025
Some snow in the forecast! Don’t get excited, we’re not expecting much. Winds will pick up over the course of Wednesday and we should get a centimetre of snow or two during the latter part of the afternoon. Thereafter the hills should look a little whiter everywhere above 900m and there may be a little drifting on to steep NE to SE aspects above 1000m.
Looking somewhat more wintry overnight Wednesday into Thursday with strong NW winds, too.
(Above) Clearing haze above the inversion mist gave the promise of a great day, weather-wise, at Creag Meagaidh.
(Above) No surprise then to see the main car park at the A86 roadside more or less full.
(Above) Today’s mission: Coire Buidhe, a quiet and infrequently visitied coire to the north of Beinn a Chaorainn. Some somewhat larger remnants of snow in this remote N-facing accumulation zone. Hard and unyielding snow (again) with a very cold -9.1 degrees C. surface temperature and a thin coating of small feathery surface hoar crystals.
(Above) Location map. The ‘pin’ denotes the place where the previous photo was taken.
(Above) A view from the map ‘pin’ towards The Window (hidden) and Stob Poite Coire Ardair 1053m. If you zoom in you should be able to make out a sunlit camel-train of hillwalkers ascending/descending close to an old vehicle track. Didn’t see a single person where I was just 4.5km away.
(Above) A shot across the SW shoulder of Creag Meagaidh summit from high above Bealach a Bharnish lower left of photo. The Moy Wall is visible and forms a hard outline on the skyline of one of the broad ridges right of centre. Difficult to see because of the widespread frost but old snow patches are present on the Creag Meagaidh summit plateau, are of modest size and dissected by swathes of vegetation.
(Above) Descending from Bealach a Bharnish to Loch Lagganside. The white smudges lower in the photo are areas of exposed water ice often on flat or low angled ground. Well worth avoiding as a slip on this stuff could leave you with somewhat more than just a loss of dignity and a bruised bum.
(Above) The sunny snow-less East Ridge of Beinn a Chaorainn.
(Above) Reverse angle shot of Beinn a Chaorainn’s East Ridge showing its slightly more wintry-looking NE-facing side.
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