Glass half full
20th February 2025
Glass half full…of rainwater? It was wet this morning which compromised the ‘quality’ (Editor. misnomer?) of my mountain day. Somewhat.
It wasn’t without interest or incident though.
(Above) The NNE facing crags between ‘Cinderella’ and the summit of The Window. Size 1 wet slab avalanche trundled down late morning aided & abetted by the very mild (+6 degrees C.) and very wet overhead conditions. There’s quite a lot of avalanche and cornice debris on the crag apron nearby (a normal sight at Creag Meagaidh) but most of it is historic. The rapid loss of superficial snow cover means it isn’t as well disguised now. The nearby overhanging cornices identified yesterday were still in place at midday but likely to get weaker as the meltdown extends in to Friday.
(Above) Glass half full. The NNE facing crags at the entrance to the Inner Coire, with ‘The Pumpkin’ prominent in the shot. The photo in no way conveys the awfulness of the weather conditions at the time. Spotted a team of two climbers (just visible in the shot) shaping up to ascend this well-known winter route but the lead decided against it and retreated after a couple of ice tool placements.
Falling ice in the vicinity of the crags an objective danger during the current mild and wet weather.
(Above) A misty and rain smeared glimpse into Easy Gully. As in the Inner Coire, there some mucky old avalanche debris at the base of Centre Post and only visible now that it’s lost its mantle of superficial snow.
Over 30mm of rain in the forecast for our area tomorrow + a 2000m freezing level. Not surprisingly, expecting widespread snow loss over the next 24hrs.
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Keith Horner
20th February 2025 5:58 pm
There’s some large chunks of debris visible in the left hand side of your first photo – looks like historic cornice debris now revealed? Anticipating that the cliffs will be looking very black over the next few days……
meagaidhadmin
20th February 2025 7:15 pm
Yes, some old cornice debris. Quite large chunks, too!
C. Cameron
20th February 2025 6:49 pm
Thanks for vindicating my decision not to venture back in today despite all the excellent ice about yesterday.
meagaidhadmin
20th February 2025 7:17 pm
Some good decision-making, Cat. Timing is everything, isn’t it!