Snow on eBothy Blog

the first snows arrive on blaven

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The first snows of the winter arrived on the Cuillin last night with Blaven looking wonderful!

trailbreaking on beinn chabhair

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Last Tuesday I caught the last ferry from Skye and headed down to the Drovers Inn at the head of Loch Lomond for a couple of nights B&B and an attempt on my second last Munro, Beinn Chabhair. When I’d booked, the weather forecast was fine but on the Tuesday the place was white and I was the only car and passenger on the ferry and it was a beautiful sunset over Eigg and Rhum with the mountains of Knoydart like black cutouts from the electric blue sky. A fantastic evening and a superb drive south, 2 hours 15 minutes from Mallaig to Inverarnan with hardly a car on the road the whole way. There wasn’t much snow on the road until Crianlarich, which looked like Chamonix. I’d phoned ahead to the Drovers to let them know I might be late and the lady at reception (who’s from Crianlarich) was very helpful and friendly. In the end it was a fast drive on clear roads with no traffic.

west highland railway avalanche

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The West Highland Railway was closed between Tyndrum and Bridge of Orchy for quite a while round about the end of February/beginning of March this year due to a couple of avalanches on Ben Odhair that covered the line and the West Highland Way. On the way back from Nephew Conrad’s christening in Glasgow, I took some pics from the bus.

You can see all the pics here.

cold calm and clear on the cuillin

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Three words that sum up this winter. January was Alpine, quite literally, with massive dumps of snow that made walking almost impossible in some areas, especially the route into the northern corries of Cairngorm, virtually no wind and temperatures down in the minus twenties. These are indeed, Alpine conditions and they make for hard walking and avalanches and so far this winter, the wind has been absent. Last year there 100mph+ winds that wrecked parts of the ski building at Cairngorm but so far, not a lot of wind. It really has been one of the best winters ever. Even the Cuillin are plastered. which drew me out for a simple day’s bimbling on Blaven on Saturday.

still it snows

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

This is the third day in a row we haven’t been able to get out of the village. Each night it dumps another couple of inches on the frozen ground. The crofters have moved the sheep onto the hill as there’s more food for the black faces up there although the others are starting to suffer. It looks beautiful but the lack of food is starting to show on some of the sheep.

snowed in again

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Snowed in twice in a week! This is the frozen north, it usually doesn’t snow that much as we’re on the coast but snowed in again we are! Couldn’t ask for a better view though.

winter storms on the way

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

It’s going to be a wild Halloween, woOOoo! 100mph winds on the tops and snow. What a combination!

advancing spring meets retreating winter

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0000

As the honeysuckle awakens, new snow dusts the summit slopes of Ladhair Bheinn. I love the snowy depths of winter but the birdsong and green of spring is nice too.

where has winter gone

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago there was a massive amount of snow on the hills but with lots of minor highland roads shut due to the amount of the white stuff drifting around, I couldn’t get across to the Cairngorms to meet up with the Orion MC and bag a few climbs in the Northern Corries. Then a week in Devon ensued, which was great and very relaxing and I come back to find all the snow gone! Every last drop! Apparently there’s snow above 1000m in the ‘gorms, no ice and the easier gully lines are being described as “waterfalls”. There’s an international climbing meet at Glenmore Lodge and it’s definitely a case of “you should have been here last week!”. There’s a cold front moving in tonight with the freezing level expected to come down to 750m and the avalanche category for all areas is set to jump from 1 to 3, as the old slush refreezes and new windslab forms on top of it. Not nice. But it’s speculation at the moment. No-one’s sure whether it will be snow or heavy rain on the summits as the timing is uncertain. If it’s heavy rain it could wipe out what’s left of the snow cover. And it’s still February!

more snow than you can shake a snowman at

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Not for here though, just a smidgette that was enough to snow us in and stop me making it over to Kincraig to meet up with friends at the Orion MC. I was planning on getting up Jacob’s Ladder (I) and Fiacaill Ridge (II) but that would have been unlikely as Aviemore had a foot of snow today and the top lift was closed due to winds. That would have meant whiteout conditions and with an Avcat of 4 the “norries” would have been out of bounds. It’s cleared up a bit now, although there’s more cloud coming in:

snowy january weather

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

While some blogs are reporting the onset of Spring and are even looking forward to summer! I thought I’d post some pics of the recent snow we’ve had up here. Over the last few days it’s all melted though, although there are some fearsome cold winds heading in from the east tomorrow and next week, bringing lots more snow, hopefully.

a good call

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Today was forecast to be the better of the weekend days, so I left the house at 8am and was walking up beside the burn from the Eas nan Arm bridge near the 1715 battleground at the top of Glen Shiel by about 9. I sat in the car for a bit, listening to the radio, while heavy rain showers passed over, then headed up beside the trees on waterlogged and boggy ground. At the top of the trees, there’s a hole in the fence that lets you reach the main forest exit onto the open hillside and it was here that I realised I’d left the camera in the car! Not that there was much to see, with constant blizzards sweeping in from the west and reducing viz to about 30m.

deep snow on the south glen shiel ridge

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Had a fantastic day today on the South Glen Shiel Ridge, well the bit between Maol Chinn Dearg and Sgurr Coire na Feinne. A ridgette really. I was planning to do more but the snow was so deep and soft I was tiring by the time I got up there. I was also trying out my new La Sportivas, which are rigid and are hard going on the old feet, as I haven’t worn stiff boots in years. I left the house at 7.30am and was walking by 8.30, through deep soft snow from the word go, while the sky blushed in the first light of day.

approaching winter fun

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve just upgraded the downstairs dept., which was showing its age. New boots and crampons, perchance a report once I get out and use them, which should be pretty soon as there is heavy snow forecast for most of this week up here. Can’t wat! I also had another look at my old climbing logbooks and realised Gardyloo Gully is actually a Grade II (the IV is for earlier in the season), which feels right, looking back on it. It was my first winter climb so no doubt I was overawed by the surroundings of the north face of Ben Nevis! Add in Observatory Gully (which I’d missed out) and that only leaves a couple of Grade Is to climb this winter and I can think of going for Winter ML assessment. Next winter though. This winter I want to get the navigation just right and maybe get a couple of nights snowholing. Not consecutive mind you. One night is bad enough, without having to simulate an assessment over two nights. I’m booked on the MLTA subsidised winter nav course at Glenmore Lodge next year, which should be good. The instructors there are top notch.

a snowy skye day

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

It was a still and cold day at the eBothy today. My crampons are past their best, with the straps all bust and all sorts, so after a very cold night I thought it best to bimble around taking pictures instead of heading for the frozen heights. There was some snow last evening then a clear and cold night which cemented the car shut for a while but once out, the views were stunning:

a sunny day

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Went for a lunchtime wander yesterday from work. Fantastic weather and a fair bit of snow on the tops. They’re even skiing in the ‘gorms this weekend!

wild weather indeed

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I posted yesterday about the approaching storm and today it arrived in full force. The telly reported 88mm (3 inches) of rain down the road at Lusa and we’ve been battered all day by storm force winds. Stornoway had 75mph and it’s looking like they might get 100mph tomorrow. The rain has just been phenomenal and at one point the entire world disappeared as a violent burst of weather swept in from the south west and blew the top off the chimney, which ended up about 30 feet away. It’s still wild at the moment and it’s quite exciting listening to the roar of the gale through the trees.

another storm on the way

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Last Sunday was wild as forecast with storm force winds and torrential rain in the west and Thursday is looking like an even stormier day, with 100mph winds forecast for the hills.

The above chart produces the following forecast:

winter forecast 20089

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

It’s a raw day at the eBothy today with strong south-westerlies and snow down to around 1500 feet. There was a dusting this morning but it’s been snowing up there all day by the looks of it. There’s another storm on the way for Thursday and the Met Office have published their winter forecast for 2008/9. You can read it here. Looking back over my weather posts, the last couple of years have more or less started the same, with early snow around end of September, early October with not much else after that, except last year when we had mega-dumps which didn’t consolidate. This year feels different so far though, with more traditional weather in evidence. Prolonged snowfall and gale force winds with torrential rain lower down. The Met Office are saying it’ll be another above average temperature winter this year although less mild than last year’s, which feels about right so far. I notice the Cairngorm AWS has started working again - see the widget on the right of the page so I’ll be keeping an eye on the ‘gorms weather as it tends to get rather interesting in winter. With storm force winds and more snow forecast, it’ll be great to get out on the hill this weekend!

the first snows have arrived

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Had to go to Inverness on business today so managed to take some pics of the first snows of the winter, down to about 1500 feet. Not a drop on the Cuillin of either Skye or Rum though. It’s all on the mainland. Looks wonderful. Forecast for tomorrow is horrendous!

winter still approaching

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We didn’t get the snow to 850m yesterday and neither did we get the forecasted gales, although this morning the big sign at Broadford was flashing CANCELLED for the Armadale ferry. Not sure why as the Sound of Sleat is like a millpond and it’s a beautiful sunny morning. Perhaps it’s too nice to sail and everyone’s just hanging out, admiring the views. Having said that, there was a fisheries boat in the Sound as well as the Hebridean Princess, just sort of hanging around, so perhaps there is some weather on the way. There were also a fair few deer at the top of the road this morning, which is a rare occurrence so perhaps there is indeed weather on the way.

snow on the way

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Mountain forecast for the north west highlands is showing snow on the highest summits for Tuesday, with the snow level lowering to 850m on Wednesday and rising to 900m on Thursday. Coupled with 50mph gales, heavy rain lower down and lightning, it’s going to be a rough few days. Time to batten down the hatches!

I would think at least Ladhair Bheinn might have a white cap on mid week, possibly Sgurr Alasdair and hopefully Blaven, as it’s on the commute. Will keep an eye out with the camera.

on the edge winter ml training

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I had heard it was a respected qualification and that the drop-out rate for the six day training was quite high, so it was with some trepidation I turned up at Alltshellach last week for my Winter Mountain Leader training with Plas Y Brenin. I’d led from Alltshellach last year for the HF so I knew the house was superb and the new swimming pool and jacuzzi was open so I was looking forward to a soak or two. In the bar on the first night I met Phil, my HF assessor and got the low down on scrambling assessment to lead guests on the more challenging holidays and made a note to apply for that when I got back. I’m really enjoying the outdoors life. Here I was, preparing for winter leader training and was already thinking about another assessment! All good stuff.