“Bless-ed are the trailbreakers…”
7th January 2026
Critical windspeed threshold tomorrow, Thursday. Expecting 15mph to 20mph winds over the summits which may be enough to encourage some scouring and redistribution of the considerable quantity of soft that lies on the plateau. In addition, we’re also anticipating some light snowfall. If the winds are much above 15-20mph we could see quite a lot of snow being moved onto lee slopes. If slightly lower speeds then we’ll probably just see soft but weak windslab on steep NW through N to E aspects above 900m, but only in relatively modest quantities.
Underfoot conditions get special mention. We’ve got quite a lot of soft unconsolidated snow on the ground and much of it covered by a widespread thin crust below 800m. Venturing away from the main Coire Ardair path today was extremely tiring and not for the faint of heart. Likely to be the same again on Thursday. I was fortunate to follow the trail blazed by three enthusiastic walkers/snowshoers for quite some way along the path until I diverted away from it to get into Coire Chriochairein. Thanks, guys!
(Above) Screenshot of a table of ranked official snow depths at a selection weather stations around the UK. Tulloch Bridge is just 5km away from Beinn a Chaorainn – the western end of the SAIS Creag Meagaidh forecast area.
(Above) The main Coire Ardair path. Crusty; sometimes with freshly drifted snow in places. Outwith the path lies crust-covered deep snow and heather: the nemesis of all winter hill-goers.
(Above) The Coire Ardair path. About knee deep here and there.
(Above) The crags at the busines end of Coire Ardair. Only a glimpse as visibility was poor for most of the morning above 800m.
(Above) The southernmost part of Beinn a Chaorainn emerged from the mist for a brief moment at around lunchtime.
(Above) Special thanks to Iain Murray for this photo. A good and well resolved shot of the East Ridge of Beinn a Chaorainn and the mega-coire to its South, taken today. Hope the journey up from the A86 wasn’t too onerous, Iain!
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