skifreak

The Mountain Spirit Cam is back up and running in Aviemore. Came back up the A9 about 10pm, snow had eased for a time but it was just belting it down again when I was on the road. Just insane coming over the Slochd, not blowing much when I came over but the intensity was close to biblical, bottoming out coming down the Slochd Dual Carriageway. Would give the rate of snow fall I've seen in California ski areas a serious run for their money. Approaching the Slochd from the South there's 6-7ft wreaths of snow built up inside the crash barriers, the cut on the road was down to just 1 lane in bits climbing up towards the Dual Carriageway. Similar coming over Moy Moor, completely whiting out for periods as well - out of which appeared two snowploughs staggered, one well across my side of the road ramming the drifts, and the one behind clearing up the mess, was a bit of a WTF moment as they went past and I vanished into a complete wall of snow - thought the wipers were not going to be able to clear it!! Traffic behind so I couldn't stop to take any photos and no hope in hell of getting off the road into a layby, sorry.

Bugger first chance to look at Traffic Scotland this morning and all the cams are off-line! Someome scared of the bandwidth bill? I'm desperately trying to fix the Mountain Spirt Webcam that is in Aviemore, it's file system got fried in a power surge a few days ago - will try and get down the A9 to Aviemore this afternoon and get it installed again if I can get it to work!

A9 closed Northbound and southbound between Dunblane and Greenloaning. Doesn't sound good for whatever happened on the above cams?

Too much information! :lol:

Looks like Aviemore maxed out at -2c, 3.5c lower than yesterday at 3pm. Could we break the -20c mark anywhere tonight?

I am in mourning! The last patch of snow in the garden failed to make it to midnight! It has 23hrs 34minutes to snow so not to break the chain at 52days of having snow in the garden!!

Covering of fresh snow in Inverness, there was still a couple of patches of old snow hanging about in the shade. Now been 45days since the garden was completely snow free, places like Aviemore have had decent cover throughout that period.

Yesterday evening the snow was firming up despite +6[c] in Inverness, but then the wind well and truly got up and it's the classic hairdrier effect. Sizable patches of green opened up overnight, 6inches of compacted snow on the shed roof gone overnight. The Hogmanay Snowman who suffered the indignity of the wind blowing it's head off last night, has been on a crash diet overnight! Still the FL only got close to not above the Summits of the Cairngorms, snow got rain soaked lower down, very wet snow mid-mountian, good for base building as a re-freeze followed in quickly with it back below -3[c] at the Summit of CairnGorm and 0[c] on the lower slopes. From the radar should have been 6-10inches of snow on the upper parts and still more drifting. Road Crew have a nightmare, their now practically blowing concrete with the snow blowers! Nevis Range had 18 inches fresh on the upper mountain overnight.

+6c and mostly clear in Inverness. Snow has firmed up again and is distinctly frozen and crunch, plus icy where packed despite the temp, DP just below 2c and no wind helping the snow! Head height to a Ptarmigan maybe now on some.... Then (a year ago) and now (Friday afternoon) from the Daylodge Webcam.

Well I posted a picture of the big beast of a bucket thing digging out the Ski Road on CairnGorm Mountain earlier, by dusk they had got to about 100m from the Carpark, but that is just a single track trench up the down road. Snowblowers will go in tomorrow to tidy it up and start on widening the cut. The wind is picking up and its starting to drift again! Anyway after the Road Dig, will come the Funicular Dig: That picture will mean more to those who know the area. The first drift across the funicular railway above the mid station is actually where the underpass is that allows skiers to get from the White Lady trail on the left to the Ski Tow on the right of the track - its 10ft from ground to underside of the funicular superstructure there! Can you see the tunnel where the Funicular goes underground? Oh and that blob at the top left, yes its a drift over the Top Station and Ptarmigan Restaurant. Mind boggling amount of drifting and an astronomical amount of storm recovery work required to get up and running again. Finally for this cold spell thread if it's ending, it's clear and starry with a temperature of -3 in Inverness. Snow is crispy, white and sparkling for one last night (and the street outside needs ice skates!!).

Digging out the ski road just above the tree-line this morning on CairnGorm, long way to go to the Daylodge!!

Quoted on piste snow depths are usually plucked out of thin air by the places that report them for Scotland! More often or not we ski on drifted snow that often lands where we ski on it long after it fell out of the sky. This means burn courses, gullies and other natural snow fields can accumulate snow to depths of tens of feet in some instances. To put the amount of snow into perspective, the snowploughs couldn't get more than a third of the way up the road the last 2 days, the snowblowers didn't fare much better, burrowing to a standstill. The 'down' road which is below the more exposed up road on CairnGorm is under 13ft of snow and heavy earth moving machinery has been brought in to start on digging the road out at 4am on Thursday. It's not yet known how much snow the up road is under.

-12c being reported at Inverness Airport and -18 at 5pm in Altnaharra.

That sort of statement is just as ignorant as the pen pushers that stopped the grand match taking place.

Damn it, the link didn't work either! Trying an attachment this time!

Double post, ignore me!

Traffic flowing over the Slochd again: http://www.winterhighland.info/forum/file.php?2,file=5887 Sorry cant embed it for some reason, forum wont allow it.

Indeed and the Slochd has just re-opened. Should be highly interesting driving for the traffic that's just been let through from Carrbridge according to MFR.

Are you sticking out into the sea somewhere? I'm just along from the RNI and it's +1, but not thawing, though falling snow was very wet for a bit. Had some hail, possibly thunder, but it might have been snow sliding of a roof somewhere! Looking at the road cams maybe just as well I didnt go skiing today, was going to be up the 'Gorm first thing - but really had way to much to do, though tbh, its not getting done... bloody webcams!

Just incase the server blows up again here given the Meto Warning for the South, I've popped a Scottish Cold Spell discussion thread for any refugees on Winterhighland here . Wind really picking up in Inverness, not been much wind so far in this cold spell so now the problems are really piling up on the roads, bit like the snow!

Merry Christmas everyone! Snow on the ground and a couple of snow showers since mid-night here in Inverness!

15inches+ on CairnGorm Mountain overnight! Party time!

Nothing doing just now in the centre of Inverness, but in Aviemore the Mountain Spirit web cam looks good... Updating image: http://www.winterhighland.info/cams/aviemore

Drumochter Pass looking good!! :lol:

Weather seems to be closing in around Drumochter again on the A9.