Winter conditions

[jmarkb]

It's that time of year when folk start asking "How much snow is there on XXXX?", so I thought I would start a thread for winter conditions reports - if you've been out in the hills, please just post the date, location, snow level, cover and conditions (reports of no snow are also useful!).

Other useful sources:

• Probably the most complete/up-to-date set of mountain webcam links: http://www.stevenfallon.co.uk/webcams.html
• SAIS reports and blogs will start on 15th December at https://www.sais.gov.uk/

Here's one to start with:

Date: 26/11/17
Location: Meall Greigh (Lawers area)
Snow level: Light dusting above 150m, more substantial general cover above 450m.
Snow cover: Above 450m, mostly 2-4 inches depth, but ridges scoured and some deep drifts on lee (SE facing) slopes. Conditions: Heavily windblown soft powder, some soft windslab in deeper drifts.
Comments: Travel a little slow, but nothing too arduous.

[LeithySuburbs]

It's that time of year when folk start asking "How much snow is there on XXXX?"

I prefer the ones along the lines of "I'm visiting Scotland on January 12th. Will there be much snow?"

[Scottk]

This is also handy for forecasts.

http://www.mwis.org.uk

[jmarkb]

I prefer the ones along the lines of "I'm visiting Scotland on January 12th. Will there be much snow?"

Yes, but they are beyond help

[jmarkb]

I prefer the ones along the lines of "I'm visiting Scotland on January 12th. Will there be much snow?"

Yes, but they are beyond help

[gman]

I've seen good information & photos on the Scrambling & Mountaineering and Ground Conditions Facebook pages over the past few years, you often get guides posting so you can see what's in condition and whether it's worth the drive. UKC conditions page also handy for recent info on climbs.

[BlackPanther]

I found this - panoramic webcams from the Lecht summit and from Cairnwell Pass, updated hourly in daylight hours. At the moment there is almost too much snow

http://m.webcam-hd.com/ski-scotland/the-lecht

http://m.webcam-hd.com/ski-scotland/glenshee

We were on Carn Ealasaid on Sunday and a 3 hr walk took us 4.5 hours, we spent far too much time digging through snow filled peat hags. Snow ankle deep (deeper in peat hags and snowdrifts) and quite windy... But it's an easy hill for winter. Temperatures have been relatively low recently (+4 max in Beauly) so hopefully the white stuff lasts longer than last year

Winter wonderland, 26/11/2017:

[jmarkb]

I've seen good information & photos on the Scrambling & Mountaineering and Ground Conditions Facebook pages over the past few years, you often get guides posting so you can see what's in condition and whether it's worth the drive. UKC conditions page also handy for recent info on climbs.

Thanks gman, I think I may have to succumb to a Facebook account. Ski touring reports seem to have moved over there too.

[jmarkb]

I found this - panoramic webcams from the Lecht summit and from Cairnwell Pass, updated hourly in daylight hours.

Thanks BP, I knew about the Glenshee one but did realise there was one at the Lecht as well.

[prog99]

The majority of the webcams can also be found in the relevant links on winterhighland - http://www.winterhighland.info

[Fiona Reid]

Looks like there are actually two different Facebook Groups that gman mentions.

One is Scrambling & Mountaineering UK which is a closed group that you need a Facebook account to view and then can't see the details until you've requested access and been added to the group. See https://www.facebook.com/groups/217139808339945

The other is Ground Conditions in UK Mountain Areas which is an open group and doesn't need a Facebook account to view the content, see https://m.facebook.com/groups/345833125602252/ this group seems to have all latest snowy photos etc.

[prog99]

Useful weather station data. A nowcast basically with enough historical data.

Cairngorm summit - http://www.weathercast.co.uk/world-weather/weather-stations/obsid/3065.html
Cairnwell - http://www.weathercast.co.uk/world-weather/weather-stations/obsid/3072.html
Bealach na Ba - http://www.weathercast.co.uk/world-weather/weather-stations/obsid/3039.html

The aonach mor one is bust at the moment.

[Caberfeidh]

I prefer the ones along the lines of "I'm visiting Scotland on January 12th. Will there be much snow?"

Yes, but they are beyond help

The ones which should fill in organ donor cards immediately are the ones who say what they want to hear: "I wont need crampons and ice axe on Ben Lomond next week, will I?" Then they get all stroppy when you point out that winter conditions are likely to be prevalent....

The Grave Of The Unknown Mountaineer...

[simcc]

It's that time of year when folk start asking "How much snow is there on XXXX?"

I prefer the ones along the lines of "I'm visiting Scotland on January 12th. Will there be much snow?"

Oh, I had to laugh out loud at this one... just so many times...

[Robinho08]

What did we do before Facebook. We just packed our winter boots, crampons and axe.