firefly

Actually, there is more snow this year than there's been for a good few years. Contrast the three attahcments for Ben Nevis and you'll see what I mean. 2007 noticably better than the last two years.

Hmmm, I'm not so sure. Ciste Mhearaidh has made it before, but it's very hit and miss. Just because it's large just now, doesn't mean it'll last. Remember, we've still got most of August and September to go. All it takes is a mild (and wet) couple of weeks in August and it will decimate the remaining pack. The Nevis patches and Garbh Coire ones are in better trim than they have been for a few years, so I'm hopeful of having at least 2 survivals this year. Who knows, if it stays cool then the Ben might see its first survival in a few years, too. Fingers crossed!

We collect data from all over the place. Walkers are the main source, naturally. Quite a few people know we do it so they'll go out of their way to relay back information. As for when we'll know a snowpatch will make it... very difficult to tell. In my opinion, July and September are both critical. A wet and warm July is a killer. Heavy rainfall is very destructive to snow, particularly warm rain. However, if July is average then September can make or break them. As you can imaging, the patches are fairly small come September, and a mild spell can be very damaging to the snow. Generally, if a patch makes it through to mid-October then there's a good chance it will make it to the first new snows. However, there are very few that will make it that far. Nevis patches generally disappear by mid-September, and the Aonach Beag one isn't far behind. The Cairngorms normally can hold quite a few going into September (Ciste Mhearaidh, MacDhui, Coire an Lochain, Sneachda etc) but it is Garbh Coire that virtually always holds the longest. I've never known it not to make it to October, but I've only been contributing for a couple of years and don't know if this has always been the case.

Dr Hosking, Yes, the report was in May's Weather. I have the file on PDF but it's massive (38meg). You should be able to obtain a copy without too much hassle. Either that or you can ask me specific questions and I'll let you know. No snow patches survived through to 2006's first snow of the winter. The last one (Garbh Coire) disappeared around the 1st October. This year looks a bit more encouraging.

1343 metres (to be exact). Ben Nevis isn't even the best place for snowpatch survival (owing in part to its proximity to the full force of the damp southwesterlies that whistle in from the sea) in Scotland. The Cairngorms hold that particular honour. The snowpatches on the NE face of Nevis are unlikely to last through September, and it looks as though we can expect the same this year, judging by the sizes of the remaining drifts. As for the Cairngorms... I'm much more optimistic this year. Last year saw the patches take a battering in July due to the very warm conditions, even at high level. Whereas this year we're seeing more snow on Ben MacDhui than the last couple. Indeed, the Ciste Mhearaidh patch is looking very healthy, as demonstrated by Jamie from Highland Instinct (who managed some mid-July skiing!!!). How about this for just how much snow can accumulate in Scotland's upper reaches?! Taken TODAY (12/7/07) believe it or not. Main thread here. Respect to Jamie and Helen!

Errr, no he's not! I help Adam Watson to compile his yearly snow report for "Weather" magazine and can confirm that these photographs are genuine. The Ciste Mhearaidh patches are well know to survive well into the summer, and have been known (in years gone by) to last to the new snows of the following winter. What makes this particular patch remarkable is that it is a true open snowfield, rather than a patch that sits at the bottom of a gully accumulating avalanche debris (and is typically sheltered from the sun for prolonged periods of time). As for the depth, I remember climbing in the Lost Valley (in Glencoe) in 1993 and walking past snow patches approx. 6 metres in depth - and this was at about 2200foot IN JULY!!! The patch(es) in Garbh Coire on Braeriach will be well over 200 metres wide at present (by my guess) and have melted only a handful of times in the last century. The patches this year are the largest since at least 2004, at least on certain mountains (Ben Nevis, Ben More near Crianlarich). Also, as noted, we have had lying snow on Ben Nevis and the Cairngorms in late June for the first time in, I believe, quite a few years.