This last week has definitely been a week of 2 halves. On Wednesday the snow arrived in force with about 2 feet falling in 24hrs. The difficulty in getting around meant using snow shoes was the only sensible means of travel and I spent 2 enjoyable days touring the local area whilst looking at navigation skills and snow (in)stability tests.
The avalanche hazard rose considerably with the fresh snow fall and is still extremely serious. The recent surface hoar formations have been buried under a thick layer of unconsolidated powder and I have witnessed some extreme instabilities in the snow pack with cracks shooting out on the surface of the snow under just my body weight, thin 20m square slabs detaching on 20 degree slopes and test pits collapsing whilst being dug. Be careful out there and keep an eye on the avalanche forecasts. On a positive note views up towards the Northern Corries this afternoon showed some scoured ridges and slopes. The Cairngorm ski road has been closed since the new snow fall but Cairngorm Mountain hope to open for some skiing tomorrow.
