UKC

Anyone have first hand knowledge of whether enough reasonably continuous snow patches to make a trip on Saturday 30th April worthwhile - please?

In reply to John Workman:

http://ncairngormsblog.sais.gov.uk/2016/04/winter-continues-sais-weeekend-f...

Looks good.

In reply to John Workman:

It absolutely is. I was up last weekend and the cover was great, and since then it's been bucketing down snow. It's been snowing down to Aviemore overnight again.

I'm heading up for a decent outing on Saturday; I think the plateau will be pretty busy with skiers!

In reply to John Workman:

I too was up there last weekend, went from the ski centre to Ben Macdui - Loch Etchachan - Beinn Mheadhoin, skiing down from Beinn Mheadhoin to the outflow of Loch Avon was a bit rough and we had to carry for a bit before we could skin up to the saddle and back to the ski centre. Apart from the short section down Beinn Mheadhoin the snow was excellent, much better than it had been three weeks earlier. Since then it put down loads of snow, no idea what condition could be wet and sticky.

In reply to John Workman:

Some friends went out to Ben Macdui last weekend before all the new snow fell and it looked pretty good then so I'd say it's definitely worth the trip.

In reply to Fiona Reid:

Thanks for the info guys.

In reply to John Workman:
My research indicates that the 4000ers might be worth a punt, so I'm going for a look tomorrow.
I will be packing a pair of walking shoes though, just incase.

In reply to John Workman:

Yeah, there is one "snow patch " and it covers the whole of the Cairngorms ! On Wed I skied the same route as Owen M and had skis on all day ( apart from crossing the outflow of Loch Avon !) . Since then there has been lots more snow. Think 4000 ers would be a good shout . I met a guy who said he had skied Tailors but don't know how far down he went . Enjoy...

In reply to Nemo9:

We got almost to the bottom of Taillears yesterday. Skinned back up Allt a' Choire Mhoir which looked brilliant for descending - two folks skied down as we were headed up. The Goat Track was icy at the top but lovely from half way down - managed all the way back to the ski centre from the Coire with a tiny bit of heather hopping.

A bit dreich today so that might have been our final day on the plank(s).

In reply to Fiona Reid:

Myself and Neil appeared to be the second pair to decend Tailor's burn yesterday. The slog up to Cairn Toul was quite laborious.
A big thanks to Jim who caught Neil's ski as it hurtled down the hillside when he took it off for the last rocky bit on the ridge up to Cairn Toul from the Larig gru.
Another thanks to the couple that we met on Ben Macdui who gave me some duct tape to fix my pole that I had snapped on the first run off Cairngorm.
Overall, amazing snow cover for May, some good snow for decent, but becoming heavy in the middle altitude. The new pathwork to and from the Chalamaim gap made the walk out quite bearable.
Note to self - get better poles and remember zipties and tape in future.
James

In reply to James Edwards:

That was me with the duct tape - you're welcome! Glad it proved useful and sounds like the rest of your day was as good as ours (loch echtachan, loch avon, saddle, ciste mhairaid). Fingers crossed for next weekend but resigned to ending the season with yesterday's excellent adventure.

In reply to inboard:
Thanks very much, you saved our day!
James