Still generally soft conditions on Ben Nevis with excellent snow cover.
Fresh snow fell Wednesday night down to 500m or so and there was a good cover Thursday morning. There was about 10 to 15cm of dry, soft powder in most places so the skiing must have been excellent. It was colder than it has been recently as well so the old snow was quite firm underneath. Unfortunately the visibility on the summit was very poor which made navigation on the summit particularly tough.
Without a compass and the ability to use it there would be no chance of finding your way. The cairns above 1200m are buried and almost useless; you certainly can not rely on them to find the way. It's an excellent reminder of just how challenging the hills here can be and how good your mountaineering skills need to be even on quite a nice day like today.
The big ridges are very well covered in snow. There is so much snow on Ledge Route you could ski down! Some ice has been forming at the mid-level. The Curtain and The Curtain Rail, Right Hand Chimney on Moonlight Gully Buttress and The Chute are examples of where ice has been forming. There is a smear on Mega Route X and Gemini too. The traditional snow ice gullies are soft still and of course the big easy gullies are very full.
General snow cover is at 650m. Fresh snow is down below this but Friday will bring a thaw to the summits and heavy rain. This will help stabilise and further consolidate the snow when it freezes during Saturday and Sunday.
Happy climbing!
Mike Pescod
http://www.abacusmountaineering.com/
Pictures here -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abacusmountaineering/sets/ 
