November 2007 Conditions Reports

25th November 2007

Curved Ridge, North Buttress and Crowberry Ridge on Buachaille Etive Mor looked like they had a light dusting of snow today. However Chris and Nicky's goal of the North Buttress was missed due to large amounts of verglas and poor ice low down getting onto the route so they headed over to Curved Ridge. They had a great day but report plenty of slippy snow and ice to be overcome and the tourist track down is treacherous. The tops of these routes are suitable for ice axes and crampons just now - you have to prepared for anything at this time of year! Thanks to Chris and Nicky for your report and picture.

22nd November 2007
We're getting more snow building up over 950m and have very cold temperatures forecast for tomorrow. There will be a brief thaw on Saturday before colder conditions return again on Sunday. All in all it's not a bad start to the winter and holds plenty of promise for the rest of the season.

19th November 2007

Saturday was warm and extremely wet, washing away the wee bit of snow we had at the end of last week. Yesterday though it did cool down as planned with sea leavel temperatures going from 8 celcius down to 5 celcius and the freezing level dropping from above the summits down to around 900m. This morning we have a reasonable covering of fresh snow down to 1000m and quite nice weather. As always with an easterly air stream we get little rain or snow here on the west coast. The Cairngorms will have had more snow and often provides better early season (before Christmas) climbing. The Scottish winter always saves the best to last though and the west is best for late season ice climbing.

16th November 2007
Staying kind of cool over the last couple of days but not properly freezing. However, north and north east winds are forecast to arrive from Sunday making the temperature drop and bringing some snow. We are unlikely to see much of it over here on the west coast but the Cairngorms should get some fresh snowfall. There has already been some winter climbing action in the northern corries of the Cairngorms - all they need is a sprinkling of snow and cold conditions to make their rocky lines come into winter nick. There are a couple of places over here that are the same but a really good freeze is required first so let's hope the north winds of the weekend bring us really cold temperatures.

13th November 2007

The temperature dropped again rapidly and by Sunday morning the tops were covered in fresh snow. It has remained cold with the snow line moving between 700m and 1000m where it is now. Frequent showers are putting snow in the gullies and the hills are cooling down steadily. It won't be long before we're all out bashing away at the ice!
After three years at the same level we need to put up our prices slightly to accommodate increased costs of fuel and equipment. Make sure you book your winter training adventure before the end of the year to benefit from the current prices.

10th November 2007

The tail end of last week gave us steady temperatures of -4 celcius at 1200m. With so much water in the ground ice was forming rapidly and there were still some dribbles to see today despite much warmer conditions. With winds of 45mph and gust of 80mph Ben Nevis was looking like it might be a bit uncomfortable for Matt and Thomas who were climbing it in aid of Serebral Palsey treatments. However it really wasn't so windy on the top and the rain stayed away more than it came in. We descended Coire Leis (passing one guy with very big eyes having completed the CMD Arete on his own in very strong winds) to get a better idea of what Ben Nevis is all about. There was ice on Number Three Gully Buttress as well - a sign of what is to come for the rest of the winter hopefully!

8th November 2007

Quite wild wintry weather has been pushing through Lochaber today with strong winds and heavy, frequent showers. Sleet has been coming down to sea level and there is a little snow lying on the hills above about 800m. It has been colder generally over the last few days so the hills will slowly be cooling down ready for the first real falls of snow. One good thing is that there is lots of water in the ground just now so that when it does freeze well there will be lots of ice forming in the drainage lines.