Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Temperature inversion

Beautiful temperature inversion - shot taken from the Coire Ardair path on descent to Aberarder farmhouse  during mid-afternoon. Temp inversion persisted all day and gave a wide variation in temps across different altitudes. At the 900m snowpit site the air temp was +1 degrees C. and the snow surface -3.4 degrees C. Air temperature immediately either side of the thermocline (at approx 400m altitude) was in excess of 3 degrees C. in the morning.

Crags of Stob Poite Coire Ardair. Surprisingly good early ice development on these south-facing buttresses.
The Pipes area.
Easy Gully, Coire Ardair. Ice coming on really well on Last Post. Firm snow-ice in Easy Gully more or less to the plateau.