Many a Cornice makes a Muckle.
10th April 2026
Conditions were very different today than they were yesterday. It was cool, dry and with some nice long sunny periods. Overnight snow made for some hard walking conditions, but some decent looking skiing. Unfortunately I left my skis at home, a decision that I regretted. The most notable feature of the day were the large cornices which exist at the top of many of the higher North to East facing slopes and gullies. The past few weeks the cornices have generally been larger than anything I have seen for a few years. There was plenty of evidence of recent cornice collapse, and plenty more waiting to go. With strong winds and further snow expected overnight, this is not a situation which is expected to change much over the next few days.
Looking over to Carn Dearg and Ben Nevis. The cloud was coming and going from the higher tops through most of the day.
Aonach Beag, with the summit in the cloud.
The South Side of Coire an Lochan holding a fair bit of snow. Some cornice debris is visible below the lowest rocks.
Large fragile looking cornices.
More cornices looking large and fragile. Hard to judge the scale, but I suspect larger than initial impression suggest.
Looking down into Coire Dubh. The photo is a little overexposed in the middle ground, but you can make out a fair bit of recent cornice debris.
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