A testing day.
16th February 2016
It was a wild day on Ben Nevis today. Although windy, conditions were relatively dry when I first arrived. However, they very soon deteriorated. At my high point of about about 750 metres, it felt like I was being sprayed by a high pressure slush gun. Myself and my equipment got covered in a layer of slush which would slowly melt, making it quite a challenging day for the waterproofs. Â As well as being rather damp, with the strong and gusty wind, the hazard of injury by being blown over or into boulders felt very real.
There was also a fair bit of avalanche activity. There was a substantial (size 3) natural avalanche in Number 5 gully, and a team getting avalanched and carried 200 metres down in Coire na Ciste, all while I was on the on the hill. There was probably many more avalanches, Â deteriorating visibility prevented me from recording them. All in all a rather testing day on the hill.
Looking out the window of the CIC hut, not too appealing.
Snow saw and avalanche probe covered in a layer of slush. I was covered in a similar layer.Â
The Douglas Boulder and The Minus Face when I first arrived. Conditions deteriorated significantly soon after this picture was taken.Â
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