No, I haven't taken leave of my senses, or got my calendar dates confused!

When compiling last year's paper, the information contained in 2011's thread was enormously useful as a diary of melt-dates and summer snow events. In order to make the thread even more useful, I thought it would be a good idea to have it going from the start of the year. This way we can post reports and photographs of snow depths, fresh snowfall, links to other sites (SAIS, climbing blogs etc), all of which will be very useful when compiling 2012's report in the autumn. In essence it will act as a diary for the year.

I don't wish to duplicate the snow ramping thread, so forecast reports need not be put up here. Instead, reports of actual falls will be much more useful.

It will hardly have escaped everyone's attention that this winter has seen some pretty wild weather. There have been few spells of settled conditions, and the trend has been that of Atlantic storms and strong westerlies and north westerlies. This has been excellent for snow gathering. Virtually all of the snow that has fallen (and there has been a lot in Lochaber and Glen Coe) has come from the west. On top of this, frequent freeze/thaw action means that the base of many snow patches will be much more durable than that of the last two winters already (in my opinion).

Of course, it's far too early to make any pronouncements, but if the rest of the winter continues in a similar vein then we could be looking at a very good year indeed. By way of comparison, the two photographs below are of Ben Nevis (dates are on each). The amount of snow present at Point 5 Gully and Zero Gully this year looks already to be on the verge of surpassing that which was present in late April in 2008 (a snowy year). Whilst it's true that the snow in 2008 would have gone through far more freeze/thaw cycles, and the less said about last year's April the better, if we get few more Atlantic storms before the end of March then it's going to be a cracking year.

Actually, no wont say it, must not tempt fate!

Interesting that you started this thread Firefly. As I was going up the Goose T-Bar this afternoon and looking at how the snow fences at tower 6 have long since been buried by dense wet snow I was reflecting on what a potentially great snow patch season we might be headed for. You are right that it could be a classic, infact with 'normal' snowfall from here till April at very least it should be a good one - fingers crossed....

Yes, Chris, I had seen that. Also, I see that Blair Fyffe is coming up trumps with early season pictures (below) of Aonach Mor (Hi Blair, I know you'll read this)! The red line indicates an avalanche that released on Wednesday (according to the SAIS website). Fantastic cover for so early in the season, and already as much as at any time in 2011.

*EDIT* - picture too big.
Click here.



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 20.08hrs Thu 5 Jan 12 by firefly.

Do you reckon the accumulations at the snowpatch sites in the west are quite far ahead of those in the Cairngorms, the Mounth etc. at the moment, Firefly? During these storms recently it had occurred to me that these must be ideal for filling the snow patch sites. Presumably the westerlies and north-westerlies are benefiting accumulations in the east areas too but (admittedly having not been in the highlands since mid-December) it appeared to me from webcams etc that snowfalls in the north and west so far seem heavier than in the east.

Hopefully there won't be a repeat of last year's scorching spring, as you allude to in your original post!

I'm not 100% sure, in all honesty. However, I suspect that the east has not fared anything like as well as Lochaber and Glen Coe in terms of snowfall. A recent picture (27th December 2011, courtesy of SAIS here) of Cairn Toul and Sgor an Lochain Uaine shows deep drifts on the east facing flanks. Garbh Choire Mor is out of shot here, but I suspect it has done well during the December snows. Perhaps others on here will know better.

As we can see, despite thawing at lower temperatures yesterday, above 3500 feet snow continued to fall and to accumulate on "easterly aspects". This illustrates perfectly the effect wind and topography have on snow accumulation.

Also, as we can see from Gary Hodgson's photograph from yesterday, Observatory Gully continues to fill in very well indeed.

In my opinion the west has had a superior start to the season hands down. Frequent storms from the SW/NW have blown huge quantities of snow into the long lying snow sites. There has also been recorded avalanche activity which does no harm. Frequent freeze/thaw cycles have also consolidated the west's gully snow.
BUT, it is still early in the season and the west suffers badly from a sustained SW'ly thaw with all the precipitation this flow brings. If we get an Easterly blast this winter then watch out for a big reversal of fortunes(though the snow does chiefly accumulate on the wrong side of the mountains). Very much all to
play for but a great start to the season overall.

Both the weather and the SAIS delivered the goods today! A couple of cracking, clear photographs of Aonach Beag and Aonach Mor, with both showing a very decent level of cover. Aonach Beag has more snow now than it did on the 16th April 2010. A good sign! Also, the SAIS stated in their report that the damp snow pack has 'frozen solid' overnight. Another good sign. The current weather, though frustrating for skiers and boarders, is just what the doctor ordered as far as I'm concerned. All we need now is some good westerlies to fill in the corries of the Cairngorms, which have not fared as well.

A nice wee picture today of good cover above Coire Gabhail (Lost Valley), Bidean nam Bian (courtesy of SAIS):[2.bp.blogspot.com]

See post from Andy Nisbet which is interspersed amongst the usual rubbish - [www.ukclimbing.com]

Braeriach sounding good.

Mike in Edinburgh
Assorted scottish pics - www.prog99.com



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 23.09hrs Mon 9 Jan 12 by Mike_w.

Next week's MWIS forecast outlook (if it turns out to be accurate, as seems fairly likely, although the charts are in a state of constant flux at the moment) seems a pretty good one for snow-patch accumulation (and consolidation):

"... winds will strengthen from the west, and bands of rain or on higher areas, particularly in Scotland, snow will come
in from time to time. Although there will be freeze thaw cycles, on higher Scottish areas, snow will generally accumulate."

Much of the high ground in the eastern Highlands has had a massive accumulation of deep wreaths filling the main hollows for long-lying snow. This was obvious as far back as mid December, and the deep wreaths above 2500 feet withstood the mild gales of Christmas Day and Boxing Day very well. The storms in early January also delivered massive accumulations of blown snow. Today's webcams from Loch Morlich and the SSC hut show the extraordinary lack of snow on the Spey side of the hills. On the Deeside aspect, the snow cover above 3000 feet is about four fifths on Ben Avon, Beinn a' Bhuird, Ben Macdui, south-west Cairngorms, and near 90% on the Braemar side of Beinn a' Bhuird. Apart from the upper parts at Glencoe ski area, which are always excellent for natural snow cover after gales with heavy snowfall, Glenshee ski area has probably had the best cover. Graham McCabe tells me that snow fell heavily for two days and nights, in a storm coming up from the south at the start of January. This delivered hardly any snow in Braemar and the Lecht. Cairn Gorm also missed this heavy fall. Lochnagar and Mount Keen have missed most of the heavy falls, and Glas Maol to Carn an Tuirc pretty thin. Despite this, the gales and blowing snow have filled deeply the hollows that hold snow on 1 July after snowy winters and springs.such as Cuidhe Crom on Lochnagar and Corrach on the Tanar side of Mount Keen.
The east-facing slopes of the Cairnwell scored with the wind blown snow and the snowfalls. Despite the very mild weather yesterday and today, the snow on the corries on Beinn a' Bhuird and Ben Avon scarcely changed. This tallies with Andy Nisbet's comments about the snow in Garbh Choire Mor being so deep that some cliff routes are almost completely banked out, and Derek Pyper and I independently noticed this today for the cliff routes in Coire na Ciche and the east corries of Beinn a' Bhuird. In short, there is far more snow cover and there are deeper wreaths than typical for mid January. All due to a combination of gales and heavy snowfall concentrating huge quantities of blown snow into the deep, east-facing hollows, with enough thawing and freezing to create a dense snowpack. Wreaths facing south are also very long and deep on the eastern Cairngorms.

Hi folks.
I have been watching this thread and similar threads that firefly has run in the past, but this is the first time I have posted. Anyway I have written a bit about some of my thoughts about snow in the Lochaber hills on my blog at [blairfyffe.blogspot.com]
Enjoy

Cheers, Blair! Good to see you posting on here.

The blog entry is interesting. One thing that has struck me recently about comparing year for year photographically is that it will almost certainly not reflect the weight and density of the snow present. As you alluded to in your blog, 2009-2010's winter was long and cold, with few freeze/thaw cycles. Although from your photograph of April 2010 it looks as though there's reasonable cover, I wonder how dense the pack actually was around protalus and below Homo buttress, compared to this year? It is highly likely that the snow this year is more compact, icy and dense, and therefore photographs comparing each year will not reflect this 100%.

That said, photographs are always welcome! Especially when they show some very healthy convex bulges at Feith Buidhe slabs, and Garbh Uisge Beag. There's also just a hint of the cover present over at Braeriach/Cairn Toul from the other photograph from yesterday, courtesy of Blair's SAIS colleagues.

Derek Pyper and I had magnificent views of the Cairngorms on Friday during a visit to Glen Ey. Visibility was perfect and we looked closely at all the hills through binoculars.There was a temperature inversion, freezing in the glen bottoms all day but well above freezing even 300 feet higher. Many deer had moved up to the slopes around 2000 feet where all snow had gone. My previous post was incorrect about the snow hiding much of the cliff routes. In fact, the cliff routes were all visible, but snow was deep at the bottom of them. We could see this in Coire Sputan Dearg, Coire na Ciche, Coire an Dubh Lochain, Coire nan Clach. I spotted that most snow on Ben Macdui was old, grey in hue, and obviously very icy. Fresh white snow had blown on to the grey, forming a clear contrast. This has created a risk of big avalanches where the white fresh snow lies deeply on top of the grey, notably in Coire an Lochain Uaine of Ben Macdui, the slabs west of Coire Bhrochain, Coire Sputan Dearg, Coire na Ciche and Coire nan Clach of Beinn a' Bhuird. Conditions are not good for ski touring because of the frequent alternation of grey icy snow and soft fresh snow.There are conspicuous big convex bulges on the hollows at the Laird's Tablecloth on the south side of Beinn a' Bhuird and on the slabs west of Coire Bhrochain the bulge comes close to being a cornice. Another very snowy hill is Beinn Bhrotain, maybe now the snowiest in the Cairngorms, with very deep wreaths of old snow as well as much fresh blown snow on top, in the corries facing Glen Dee. This had occurred on Derry Cairngorm and Beinn Mheadhoin also. I think Firefly is right to point out that the amount of consolidated icy snow is unusually great for early January and bodes well for the survival of snow patches. This applies to the Cairngorms as well as Lochaber.



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 21.05hrs Sat 14 Jan 12 by Chionophile.