Drifting Deposits!
17th January 2009
There wasn’t much new precipitation today – but the fresh snow from last night’s showers continued to drift into sheltered locations only. The temperature lowered slowly and this could be seen in the snowpack as the layering changed from old wet snow to new wet snow and then dry windslab. The higher you went the deeper the dry windslab depth became. It is localised and has formed in the most sheltered locations only but it was possible today to take two steps and move from standing on the surface of the snow to being in a position where the new snow was well up your lower legs.
It looks like it is going to stay showery for the next period and the winds will be plenty strong enough to continue to drift the snow between the showers so windslab will continue to form. The winds are due to be South-Westerly which means that many of the Lochnagar gully exits are going to have spindrift blowing into them, (as will all the rest of our high North to East facing climbing corries)…so take it easy out there. Careful route choice required…as we often say!
Sam
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