Category Archives: Winter Conditions

Season’s End

Hopes for good late season conditions were thwarted by another major thaw in March. By way of compensation, a heavy snowfall in the Cairngorms followed by a helpful thaw-freeze cycle brought the easier north-facing gullies into condition and several teams … Continue reading

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Winter Finally Begins

After a very warm November, the winter season season finally got underway in the first week of December as westerly winds brought snow to the higher tops. As usual, The Northern Corries were the most popular venue and there were … Continue reading

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New Winter Season Kicks Off

Strong westerlies brought the first real snows of the 2013/214 Scottish winter season during the last days of October. There are rumours of an ascent of Fingers Ridge (IV,4) in Coire an t-Sneachda during the first snowfalls last week, but … Continue reading

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Stormy Week

The weather over the Christmas –New Year holiday period was very challenging with high winds putting the hills out of bounds for much of the time (for sensible folk at least). Rather frustratingly, the fluctuating temperatures were on the cool … Continue reading

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All Go in Coire n Ciste

The current spell of cold and snowy weather has resulted in some excellent ascents in Coire na Ciste on Ben Nevis. This corrie is ideally suited to early season mixed with routes mainly dependent on hooks and torques rather than … Continue reading

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Northern Cairngorms Conditions Update

The recent snow and cooler temperatures are beginning to bring the crags in the Northern Cairngorms into winter condition. Activity is picking up in the Northern Corries where routes that do not rely on frozen turf such as Honeypot, Pot … Continue reading

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Tricky Conditions

It’s been a testing couple of weeks for winter climbers with a succession of westerly weather systems sweeping across the country. This has brought rapidly fluctuating temperatures with freezing levels rising well above the highest tops. It has also been … Continue reading

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Braeriach Again

After last week’s thaw, most folk were fairly pessimistic about winter climbing this weekend, but with temperatures dropping during Saturday, there was clearly good winter climbing to be had. There were mixed views as to whether to east or west, … Continue reading

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Busy on Braeriach

Catching upon some late news: It was a ‘busy’ morning in the tiny Glen Einich car park last Sunday morning (November 4) with four teams gearing up at 6am for the cycle into Braeriach. Colin Wells and Penny Clay were … Continue reading

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Getting Away from the Crowds

It was an excellent winter climbing weekend in the Cairngorms with teams active on many crags including Braeriach, Coire Sputan Dearg, Lochnagar and the Shelter Stone. The Northern Corries were especially popular with dozens of parties enjoying the early winter … Continue reading

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