Cloudy on tops
18th March 2026
Today’s observations involved a trip to Fionn Bheinn with the hope of getting a view of the mountains to the north. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas and it was cloudy on the summits. The recent thaw has been significant and many slope aspects facing South through West to North-West were completely void of snow except for the odd burn line and hollow. However the North-East facing coire of Fionn Bheinn was holding on to winter and had better snow cover.
Many of the old cornices have slumped and been well stress tested in the recent heavy rain and warm temperatures. If we get a few hours of clear skies tonight the snow will refreeze, improving stability further. However, temperatures are due to climb again tomorrow afternoon and with the morning sun and cloudy afternoon it is possible to have a situation where warm air may get trapped under the cloud leading to instability in any overhanging cornices.
No snow on an Easterly facing ridge a 850 metres.
Approaching the summit of Fionn Bheinn.
Views into the North-East facing coire of Fionn Bheinn
Closer look at the collapsed cornices.
Large lumps of snow, though relatively stable in current conditions.
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