Avalanche debris from the recent mild spell
22nd February 2026
It was another windy day with some heavy showers falling as snow above 850 metres. There had been reports of debris in Coire na Ciste on Ben Nevis yesterday so I decided to go and take a look. Thanks to the Mountain Rescue Team members who reported this and also thanks to Team members for searching for a missing climber. This search was ongoing today with Glencoe, Oban and Police teams involved as well as the local Lochaber Team. There was debris from 4 wet snow avalanches which I think would all have occurred on Friday or Saturday. More details in photos below.
Some snow is forecast for the summits tonight and tomorrow before the freezing level rises above all summits on Monday night.
The Douglas Boulder and the bottom of Tower Ridge. Higher elevations were in cloud all day.
Patchy snow around the CIC hut.
Looking over to Aonach Mor. North and North-West aspects still mostly white with West aspects quite stripped.
Looking up debris towards Number 2 Gully. This was the largest of the avalanches, at the bottom end of size 3 (can bury a car).
Debris below Number 3 Gully.
Debris below Moonlight Gully.
Looking down the debris below Number 5 Gully.
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Judi Hill
23rd February 2026 12:52 pm
Thank you – always useful to see an ‘almost real time’ view. Unfortunately it’s overlooked or ignored by many.
lochaberadmin
23rd February 2026 2:40 pm
Very true, particularly as mountain weather is hard to forecast, and not unusual for weather and conditions to be different to what is predicted.