Cold & Clear
6th January 2025
Remarkably cold, dry and clear conditions in Torridon today. It’s freezing hard down to glen level which means some icy approach tracks below the general snow line which is fairly consistent above 200m. (The snow line tends to be higher the further west you go as would be expected). The snow is cold, super cold, so consolidation is slow. Lower down a ‘non weight bearing’ crust has formed which provides challenging ‘off track’ conditions. Higher up, the snow remains loose and dry; fairly deep in places resulting in slow progress. North through East to South-West aspects have more snow cover, but all aspects have some snow cover, it’s a very wintery scene. Ice is forming on the crags and gully lines, but I suspect currently very thin?
Looking East along the summit ridge of Beinn Eighe towards Sgurr Ban 970m.
Coire an Laoigh on the south side of Beinn Eighe. Loose, dry unconsolidated cold snow at these elevations. We are expecting 20cm of new snow over the next 24 hours arriving on strong north-westerly winds. This new snow will overlay a very fragile layer of crystals which was extensive. See photo below.
Extensive, cold weather crystals coated the surface of the snow pack. When these become buried under the new windslab they will form a very weak layer. This combined with other weaknesses within the snow pack means a considerable hazard tomorrow on East to South aspects above 800m.
Looking west towards Liathach.
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