It has to be said that the trails are now broken, but there were still long stretches of skiable snow today — somewhat soggy in places, and not currently the place for one’s best gear. Some snow will undoubtedly survive overnight. Car park was very icy this morning and may be likewise on Sunday.
Category Archives: Snow Reports
Snow Report 6th January
From Colin Miller
Apart from a few short, thin bits it looks like the snow at Clashindarroch should survive through Saturday, assisted by further compaction today on the main trails (thanks, Peter!). Temperature rose above freezing but not drastically so.
Snow Report 5th January 2012
From Colin Miller
Thursday saw Clashindarroch’s deepest snowpack this season, with 10cm wet snow on the lower trails and up to 25cm heavy powder on the Haute Route. Unfortunately the snow was melting from the ground up although frost is forecast for Thursday night. Some trails have been compacted and some others have been “skied in”.
Snow Report December 22nd 2011
Colin Miller braved the mud and ice in the Clash…
With temperatures on Thursday touching plus 10, the Clashindarroch trails have lost much of their snow. Although a compacted 5cm base was holding out gallantly here and there, there are long bare stretches. A few hundred metres survived on the Haute Route but even this was turning to slush, and the trail was running with meltwater. The Snowgoose and Timberline snowfields offered about 500 metres of continuous skiing on smooth but wet drift, but it’s a long walk to get there! A bit of a change from the past two Christmases, but there’s January and February to look forward to.
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Good to hear the distant notes of the arriving snowmobile carried on the air this morning, Peter. I’ve reported the missing grit bin via the Council website. Found a piece of silver coloured plastic at the entrance at lunchtime. It looked like a battery cover from a large mobile phone, or similar device such a vehicle fuse box. I’ve left it on the post at the pole barrier.
So… even with tomorrow’s brief freeze it doesn’t look like there’s any real prospect of skiing over the next few days.
Snow Report 20th December
Malcolm Cooper reports trails are heavily iced. Expect further ice accumulation followed by thawing.
Further report from Colin Miller An overnight freeze, with only a slight dusting of new snow, gave hard conditions on Tuesday 20th December. The thin stretches were icy, and with fast conditions everywhere the skiing was challenging. At least the base is in the best possible shape to take whatever the thaw may bring, but how much will survive remains to be seen..
Snow Report 18th December
There seems to be good cover in the forest at the moment with further falls last night making very forgiving conditions,plenty of grip and lots of control on down hill sections. Colin Miller reports 15-20cm snow depth.
Many skiers were out enjoying this pre-Christmas opportunity.
Warmer temperatures are forecast for later this week and this will probably cause some melting. The next two days will probably be the best until after Christmas.
Snow Report 17th December
Thanks to Colin Miller
Saturday 17th December: 5cm of fresh snow arrived in showers today, bringing the snow depth up to around 15cm, but still with thinner stretches. Leids Leap remains stony above the s-bend. Temperatures stayed about zero, so prospects for Sunday are good. The A941 from Rhynie has slight snow and icy patches.
There are signs of vehicle access on Leids Leap ( presumably for access to the phone mast) so take care on descents. The snow may be tracked, or you might just meet something coming the other way. Here are some photos from Dave Horsley taken on Leids Leap
Snow Report 13th December
Today, Tuesday, the Clashindarroch trails have retained their snow, but the thinner bits and downhills had become icy. Even Shortcut was a bit too fast for comfort. By mid-afternoon a howling gale was blowing and the good news is that this was driving in snow showers from the west with the sky suggesting plenty more on the way. This should add some much-needed fresh snow to the existing packed base. Temperature today was plus 2. The car park was very icy and the A941 from Rhynie had icy patches.
Snow Reports 12th December 2011
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From Colin Miller
Tramlines glazed by last night’s frost, thus nice and fast. No fresh snow but no loss of snow either. Those thin sections which have skiable cover are getting icy. Weather today sunny and calm; temp plus 3. Fingers crossed for what the next 48 hours may bring.
Clash Snow Report 9th December
From Colin Miller
The storm contributed only another 1-3cm of fresh snow, but the snowpack froze overnight,
Sunset At Slack By James Davidson
promising a good base if it lasts. Typical snow depth stays at 10-12cm. Condition varies from fast “frozen ice cream” surface to excellent powder on crunchy base, e.g. mid-section of Haute Route.
Descent of Leids Leap still not recommended, and there is thin cover in the usual places elsewhere where it’s a case of choosing one’s line carefully or making judicious use of the verge. Snowgoose and the northern part of Timberline have already filled in with 0.5m-deep snowpack, velvet-topped for superb skiing and 20-30 metres in width. The southern part of
Timberline has skiable frozen snow on heather. The storm brought down several trees between the main entrance and the foot of Highland Fling. These can be bypassed with some ingenuity. Other trails may also be affected likewise, and there is a fair amount of twiggy debris. No snow fell during the day. Temperature at car park today was zero.
The A941 from Rhynie is icebound, no doubt as a result of Thursday afternoon’s power shower and subsequent wet snow freezing onto the road. Car park had been ploughed before the storm and is icy.