UKC

Bidean nam Bian conditions

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Dom Connaway 19 Apr 2016
Anybody been up in the past few days? How much snow is left and what's the quality like? I'm thinking of heading up Coire an Lochan onto Bidean and then accross to SCS.
If the snow is chossy or too thin, though, I'd rather be elsewhere!
Thanks for any info you can give.
 kwoods 19 Apr 2016
In reply to Dom Slater:

Passed yesterday. A lot of snow on Bidean above 800m or so! Pretty close to full cover on all the high ridges including out to Sgreamhach.
 SenzuBean 19 Apr 2016
In reply to kwoods:

> Passed yesterday. A lot of snow on Bidean above 800m or so! Pretty close to full cover on all the high ridges including out to Sgreamhach.

Cheers for this info. Do you have any info on other peaks in the area, and which aspects seemed to have the most snow/ice cover? I'll be taking some novices up later in the week (they won't have crampons or ice axes), so it sounds like I won't be taking them above 800m.
 kwoods 19 Apr 2016
In reply to SenzuBean:

Bidean seems to have collected loads above 800m whereas surrounding hills are more patchy, right up to the summits. In terms of lack of snow, Buachaille Etive Beag is possibly the best bet. Aonach Eagach is looking fairly summery from the road (though from experience this can be deceptive). Buachaille's RH spur above Coire na Tulaich is snow free, but there's a short section of hard snow just prior to the summit. I took a relative novice along this who had no issue with it.
 SenzuBean 19 Apr 2016
In reply to kwoods:

> Bidean seems to have collected loads above 800m whereas surrounding hills are more patchy, right up to the summits. In terms of lack of snow, Buachaille Etive Beag is possibly the best bet. Aonach Eagach is looking fairly summery from the road (though from experience this can be deceptive). Buachaille's RH spur above Coire na Tulaich is snow free, but there's a short section of hard snow just prior to the summit. I took a relative novice along this who had no issue with it.

Thanks for the brilliant reply - exactly what I needed to know.
Dom Connaway 19 Apr 2016
In reply to kwoods:

Thanks for that, Kevin. Looks like that's a go for tomorrow, then. I'll post again when I've been up.
 SenzuBean 26 Apr 2016
In reply to kwoods:

> Buachaille's RH spur above Coire na Tulaich is snow free, but there's a short section of hard snow just prior to the summit. I took a relative novice along this who had no issue with it.

Hard snow... Got there and it was ultra hard, and any existing steps were shallow and small and sloping the wrong way. I had to chop a ladder of buckets to get everyone up safely to the bealach - but after that was a cracking summer's day


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