Hostile mountain conditions.
18th February 2026
Powerful, unrelenting SE winds and drifting snow characterised the day. 65-70mph winds at 800m made progress painful & painfully slow above that altitude in the Beinn a Chaorainn area. Came across a team of four aspiring East Ridge ascensionists who bailed on the route after being savagely buffeted at about the same altitude as above. Similar story for a lone ski-tourer whose quest for a tour to Bealach a Bharnish > Beinn a Chaorainn > Beinn Teallach suffered the same fate, also at 800m. As per usual, the video below doesn’t quite capture the full drama of the conditions.
With all the drifting no surprise then that snow stability was poor on all very sheltered lee slopes above 850m. In addition to new snow instability there was also some older buried weak layers to contend with. The distribution of them was not widespread but they expected to persist on selected NE and E aspects above 950m that are very sheltered.
The flip side of persistent drifting on to lee slopes is scouring on any aspects directly exposed to the strong winds, and here stability was much better with hard or crusty conditions aplenty.
(Above) Looking SSW from near Bealach a Bharnish. Beinn a Chaorainn capped with drifting snow top right.
(Above) Inset of Beinn a Chaorainn and its East Ridge (nearest & in profile). Summit spindrift was a feature here all day.
(Above) Coire nan Laogh. One of our true W aspects and loaded today with deepening, chalky-looking weak windslab.
Comments on this post
Got something to say? Leave a comment
KEITH HORNER
18th February 2026 5:36 pm
As your Southern Cairngorms colleague says about todays conditions – a day to question your career choice……! Can well imagine that the video really doesn’t come close to capturing the savage nature of the conditions.
Not only has this season been predominantly characterised by south -easterly winds but they seem to have been particularly strong – no doubt the Met records will confirm this in due course to supplement any anecdotal info from you and your other forecasters.
meagaidhadmin
18th February 2026 5:45 pm
Just to buttress the video, have a look at the comments on our snow profile today.