Very wintry today

After the storm force winds of yesterday and the forecast for significant snow in the east Highlands today, it turned out a far less arduous day than expected! The roads weren't blocked and although the SE winds were extremely cold they weren't as strong as yesterday and so didn't affect mobility too much. The snow showers were fairly light with most of the snow being blown off the plateau and down the scoured icy ski slopes. It was very wintry though with clothing freezing up and crampons and goggles essential...!
There were some deep pockets of windslab in north facing gullies and on lee slopes with big drifts of several metres in some of the sheltered hollows. Elsewhere the snow was relatively sparse and wind scoured. Where the snow did accumalate it was ideal for quickly building snow shelters and digging avalanche pits. A lot more snow is forecast for tonight and tomorrow so conditions will change.