Wednesday 14 January 2015

And the snow keeps falling and the wind keeps blowing.

Since Monday I have been out working in the hills on winter walking skills courses for Hebridean Pursuits clients and West Highland College students. I started off over in the Cairngorms and retreated back to west. The conditions were such that we would possibly get more out of being on the west where we would have more variety and access of venues. The storm force winds have been the main feature up until today when the 'pow' fell in bucket loads. We have been keeping reasonably low down due to the winds, although on Tuesday we did get up onto Aonach Mor and summited Creag Dhubh on Monday. Today we were in Glencoe which proved a mission just getting to the car park. Once through the stuck lorries and cars we had a great day in the well predicted lull. The recent snow has continued to develop a high wind slab risk on most aspects from North through to South. The drifts are making for hard going and brutal post holing. However if you can get to wind scoured ridges and find a sheltered aspect the walking is good. It sounds as though tonight into Thursday maybe a return to a deep front and a repeat of the earlier storms. I am back out tomorrow so watch this space.