Lochan, Glen Coe

The final day of the pre-Christmas hit was up in Stob Coire nan Lochan on Friday. We climbed Spectre (V,6) which runs parallel to the popular Scabbard Chimney.

A cold day, ice was forming at all levels on the walk in with flurries of snow during the day.

We managed to return to the van for 1430 to make the drive back to Wales, where there is currently fresh snow in the hills.

Flickr Photos

Scotland Winter Conditions - Glen Coe

Snow up to head height!
Today we had fresh snow down to the road along with blue skies and light winds. In the drifts it was extremely deep, making progress hard. I took a group up Buachaille Etive Beag , following a wind scoured rise then a few nice rocky steps up to the North summit. We then descended to the col to play around on the old frozen snow that was exposed before returning to the bus.
Other teams were on the zig zags and trail breaking into the Lochan, being careful to avoid the many avalanche prone slopes.

Scotland Winter Conditions - Glen Coe - Snow

After a mix of sleet and rain falling at all levels yesterday the snow has now returned with a vengeance.
Yesterday I was in the White Corries, at the start of Glen Coe, covering a range of skills with an 'introduction to winter' group. We found a bank of soft snow to slide on, but little in the way of hard snow for crampons. There was a new wet snow layer over the old soft snow pack. High up the winds were gusting 50 mph making walking difficult at times.
Today with blizzards forecast and high winds we opted for a low level skills day looking at navigation on Cow Hill. This hill is about 300m located behind Fort William and had a good covering of snow by the afternoon. The snow line has now decreased to near sea level with a fair amount of it accumulating outside the house.