Glencoe, Wednesday 17 February 2010

The day before the webcams for Glencoe were showing blue skies and fresh snow. It was quickly decided to take Wednesday off work. The weather report made good reading with 60% chance of sun. The day however started foggy and cold. On reaching Tyndrum the snow started coming down heavy. The road conditions got very sketchy. The car park at Coe was quite busy and we were soon up the hill. Snow was still falling and the top of the hill shrouded in mist. Visibility was poor but the snow was exceptional. Etive Glades was full of untouched powder, absolutely phenomenal riding! Rannoch Glades was tricky with few reference points. The bottom slope falls away and as I lead the group down I found the slope breaking away and the small slab avalanche took me down the slope. Having cleared the slope of loose snow I persuaded the others to follow. Looking back up I could see them sitting above the break in the snow. It was quite a drop.

Visibility improved lower down and many more runs on Etive Glades were inevitable.

A great day and the best snow I’ve had at Coe for a while. Not too cold, but cold enough to keep the powder fluffy.