Meanwhile in Arolla!

The ice has been nice!

Stunning in the hills

Wherever you ventured in the Highlands today the views would have been amazing unless you were unfortunate enough to be underneath this sea of cloud, very pretty from above though!.
A few walkers, climbers and ski tourers were making the most of the nice day. Below is looking over towards Loch Etchachan and South Cairngorm.

Coire an t-Sneachda baring it 's boiler plate conditions.

Etchachan and the Shelter Stone looking majestic.

Kathy

Boxing day!

It's been cold, clear and a fine enough day in the Cairngorms, the snow is frozen solid and the lower grade gullies give the most fantastic cramponing! A great day for a nice stroll and retreat back to the Christmas tree! Boxing day, why it is called that? No one seems to be certain about it at all. Historically it was England's name for St Stephen's day... he got stoned to death in Jerusalem in AD 34-35! We prefer a quick but lazy climb in the hills and sipping Port on such a day!

Cairngorm Reindeer taking a break!

Wondering what to do with ourselves after a busy night! Phew

Happy Christmas to all

Happy Chritmas to all, from us all at Team Ascent! This is Shelter Stone crag, Cairngorms today!

Thaw at all levels

Some snow remains in the Cairngorms after yesterdays rain, a slight freeze last night helped to stabilised the snowpack. The main gully lines are complete in the Northern Corries but as you can see in the photo below the buttresses are now mainly black, although some ice remains in places. The outlook is for it to stay mild for a few days as a high pressure sets in, happy days!

Above is looking across the plateau towards Loch Etchachan.

A wild but nice Cairngorm Day!

After the hill having had to be closed yesterday as the wind was strong enough to blow the parked cars along the parking lot! Things are much better today, it's still freezing cold with strong winds, crusty sking and some blown snow laying in sheltered areas. There were many people sking and mountainering. Snow wise, a brief rise in temperatures last night caused some avalanche activity with quite a bit of debris seen in the corries this morning. The rise in temperature was brief and now all is frozen and relatively stable. North facing aspects are ace and I dare say corrie rims and gully exits in a south easterly aspect could be full of unstable snow. The Snowpack contains lots of groupel, so it's going to remain interesting .... Life eh, it's like that!

Chamonix: Ice and snow update!

News from Sandy who is guiding in Chamonix. The skiing is ace and the ice in Cogne outstanding!

Guides report from Arolla - Ice fantastic

The first really good ice is now formed near Arolla, Swirtzerland which can be easily reached from Chamonix. Also, Here are some photos of Fenetre and other climbs around La Goulle .
Sharpen your ice picks and get those Easy Jet flights booked. Contact Sandy direct for private guides and courses. Email: info@teamascent.co.uk

Snowfall in the Lakes.

At higher altitudes several inches of snow fell on Wednesday evening, this is lying on top of hard frozen ground. Conditions are looking good after the thaw freeze cycle and it's a good forecast for the weekend. Forget the Christmas shopping...Head for the hills!

Aller Ski de fond Lake District.

Snow and ice over the fells.

Dave and Einach enjoy the views.