Glenmore Lodge Roadshow.
4th February 2026
Glenmore Lodge in numbers at SAIS Creag Meagaidh today. No surprise given that Cairngorm was stormbound and the snow gates closed at the Hayfield in Glenmore all day. Was quite wintry at Creag Meagaidh too but no way as apocalyptic as further east in the northern Cairngorms. Persistent light snowfall overnight and during the day combined with the now all too familiar strong ESE airflow gave drifting throughout. Many would have experienced good (if not very good) stability when in places exposed to the strong winds but there was noticeable new weak windslab development on the lee slopes sheltered from the maelstrom. It’s quite specific in distribution at the moment but was weak with easy to initiate shooting cracks approx 2m long in a few places. Not deep deposits at the time of reporting late morning but will have accumulated some more since then.
Expecting a bit of consolidation of this windslab overnight. But. We have more snowfall in the forecast and strong ESE winds so some new weak accumulations expected on top of it from the early hours onwards. As has been the case for the past week or so, best stability will be in all places directly exposed to the strong winds.
(Above) Glenmore Lodge on tour! Two minibuses at Beinn a Chaorainn and another in the main Aberarder car park.
(Above) A flavour of conditions at 900m on the far western flank of the Creag Meagaidh summit massif.
(Above) The white wilderness on the NW side of Creag Meagaidh that descends down into Glen Roy. Poor conditions for photography with very little contrast apart from this old broken boundary wall and fence line – which actually shows up on the 1:25000 OS map.
(Above) A glimpse across to Beinn a Chaorainn’s broad eastern shoulder.
(Above) The N-facing side of Beinn a Chaorainn’s East Ridge
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Keith Horner
4th February 2026 5:58 pm
Apocalyptic is not a term usually featured in the SAIS blogs but reading the Northern Cairngorms report, it somehow seems appropriate. The forecast for more strong ESE winds tomorrow will likely lead to another day in Purgatory aka Coire an t-Sneachda so am expecting to see the Aberarder car park busy again tomorrow.
meagaidhadmin
4th February 2026 6:07 pm
‘Apocalyptic in the N.Cairngorms’. Almost certainly a bit of hyperbole in that phrase, Keith, but it does give a good steer as to conditions there!