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Snow in early november?

Snow in early november?


Postby welshdinosaur » Wed Oct 06, 2021 5:30 pm

I am looking at travelling to scotland with my teenage daughter for the first week of november. We have been up Ben Nevis in the summer but neither of us are used to hill walking in the snow. Are there any munros/regions that are less likely to see significant snow fall at this time of year? If the weather looked bad on the day we wouldn't risk it of course but I just wanted to increase the chance of luck being on our side on one day of our holiday. I quite fancied Lochnagar or the munros in Torridon just purely based on the scenery but I would guess that some areas, like the cairngorms, would be at greater risk of snow? I'm open to all suggestions though! We loved the area around Fort William last time we went. I haven't spent much time on the west coast but somebody suggested we have a look the Kintail area for stunning scenery, I'm not sure they meant in november though!

Also with the short daylight we would just like to do a relatively quick up and down rather than a 20km hike in darkness!

Any advice is welcome thank you.

This user has been banned as they have posted from several different accounts each used only once, with queries that contradict each other. Suspected trolling.
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Re: Snow in early november?

Postby WalkWithWallace » Thu Oct 07, 2021 9:44 am

Late October / Early November is pretty much when you begin to see the first snowfalls, it can melt as fast as it arrives though, chances are you most likely won't need crampons and ice axes so early on in the winter season. That said, it can be difficult to call, and you'll only really know the conditions closer to the time. So keep an eye on forecasts, webcams etc on the run up to your trip.

The Cairngorms being one of the highest areas in the UK can attract more snow than most other areas too. The North West or Southern Highlands is probably a good call. You can use the walk descriptions on here to see the distances, difficulty and time it will take etc.

As you've already touched on, the day light available is much less so remember and pack your headtorches.
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Re: Snow in early november?

Postby Tringa » Fri Oct 08, 2021 11:45 am

I'm not familiar with the Cairngorms but early/mid November is when I usually expect to see the first snow in the Gairloch/Torridon area.

A few years ago I walked up Baosbheinn (which is only few miles north of glen Torridon and close to Munro in height) in mid November and although there was snow it was soft, in small patches and no more than a few centimetres deep anywhere.

An ascent of Beinn Eighe, for example, via the Coire an Laoigh path would probably be OK and you can see the tops from the glen and decide if you feel happy about it.

However, given the much more variable weather in recent years almost anything could happen and my personal opinion is the geography of glen Torridon tends to channel the weather.

As WWW has said forecasts closer to the time are the best guide, both general and https://www.mwis.org.uk/forecasts/scottish

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Re: Snow in early november?

Postby jmarkb » Fri Oct 08, 2021 12:12 pm

Lower altitude hills close to the west coast will be at least risk from snow cover. If you aren't too fixed on Munros, then Ardgour, Skye, Torridon and Coigach/Assynt all have excellent lower hills which are suitable for short days.
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Re: Snow in early november?

Postby Shuginho » Fri Oct 08, 2021 2:42 pm

Really is down to your Donald Duck, as evidenced in the photos below.

Mamores, Nov 2018

Imagescreenshot windows

Lawers Range, Nov 2019

Imagefree screen capture

Kintail, Nov 2020

Image
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Re: Snow in early november?

Postby jmarkb » Fri Oct 08, 2021 3:33 pm

Just to add, even if there is no actual snow cover, beware of steep ground that is high up and out of the sun, as it can become iced up.
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Re: Snow in early november?

Postby Caberfeidh » Sat Oct 09, 2021 9:53 am

Ironically the ski area at Aonach Mhor near Fort William, the Nevis Ranges Mountain Resort, is least likely to have snow in November due to the mild damp air from the sea. February/March is best for ski and ice climbing conditions there, but they run the gondola year-round, so you can get up to high altitude quickly, and back down quickly, without all those miles of exhausting puffing, panting, sweating and falling over. Cafes and car parking too. https://www.nevisrange.co.uk/mountain-report/
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Re: Snow in early november?

Postby jmarkb » Sat Oct 09, 2021 12:22 pm

Check before you go to Nevis Range - they often close the gondola in November for annual maintenance.
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Re: Snow in early november?

Postby Tringa » Sat Oct 09, 2021 1:49 pm

jmarkb wrote:Just to add, even if there is no actual snow cover, beware of steep ground that is high up and out of the sun, as it can become iced up.


Good point. Frozen bogs are a delight to walk over but iced rocks are not and it is very easy to miss the thin cover of ice until its too late.

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