Conditions/News: Winter begins 2025/6

Si Cherret topping out on the FA of Modus III.4 Stac Pollaidh NW Highlands

Its been a promising start to the winter with some nice early winter conditions coming and going since late October. The last freeze which seemed to have been nationwide was a more meaningful start to the winter giving plenty of winter climbing options and even a piste day at Cairngorm Mountain and the upper slopes still remain open at the time of writing. Its often hard to know when the snow and colder temperatures will land, but this year seemed to be about right with an early taste in October and then some more meaningful snow and widespread frosts in November.

Late October in the Northern Cairngorms

Jo and I had a fun couple of days with Simon and Fiona in the Northern Cairngorms once in October and then again in November. Often a good place to start with the mixed climbing nature of many of the routes only requiring a freeze and some snow as a pose to the snow filled gullies and ice routes which take a bit longer to build up. We had a fun day late October in the Northern Cairngorms and also at the nearby Creagan Cha No although we fell foul (again for me) of the fact it strips in seconds with any direct sun on it. I have fallen foul of this a couple of times now although we did find some shady grooves to get into.

Simon and I also had an opportune strike on Stac Pollaidh creating a new route 'Modus' at III, 4 taking a wandering line up ribs and chimneys finishing at the tricky step on the summit traverse along the ridge. Very different climbing on the sandstone of the NW but great fun. Good frozen ground and superb views out along the West Coast. It does require a low freeze though with the mountain summit being at 600mts. Its exact location I might not disclose just yet as there was another to finish off. I spent a fair few days here with groups on courses and have been doing so with a hidden agenda. In fact most of my summer nights out with groups have been done with a view to winter.

The long wait for both skiable snow and a working funicular to align came to an end. Cairngorm Mountain seized the moment to move the fresh snow around and get some pistes into place and some tickets on sale. Jo and I took advantage and treated ourselves to a day on the piste. A great day whizzing about on a bright morning until some stormy weather rolled in giving a rather wild run down the aptly named Windy Ridge to finish. Hopefully this season will be a positive one for the ski areas. Last winters poor snowfall was not a good season for the Scottish ski areas and they could do with a boost.

That has definitely put us into the winter mind set now and looking forward to what looks like a busy season ahead with plenty of guiding and instruction through the season booked in. We have made some adjustments and refreshed a few images on the site which can all be viewed here, Highland Guides Home Page

We are also looking forward to hosting the Austrian Alpine Club winter courses in Glencoe this season which is looking like it will be a busy week in February. Get in touch if you would like to join and see if we have any more spots left. Full details here.

We will be making some more regular blogs through the winter by way of sharing mountain conditions through the season so stay tuned for updates and enjoy the snow while its there.