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Latest avalanche season comes to an end

SAIS Northern Cairngorms Northern CairngormsSAIS Northern Cairngorms
  • The latest Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) season has come to an end
  • Its forecasters assess the avalanche hazard in six mountain areas
  • The areas include Glen Coe and the Cairngorms
  • More than 150 avalanches were recorded this season

Scotland's latest avalanche information season was wound up on Sunday.

More than 150 avalanches have been recorded since mid-December.

The Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) provides hazard forecasts for six mountain areas.

They are Lochaber, Glen Coe, Creag Meagaidh, Torridon and Northern and Southern Cairngorms.

Mountaineers and snow sports enthusiasts use the forecasts to help plan their trips into the hills.

SAIS said there were still potential avalanche hazards high on Ben Nevis and mountains in the Northern Cairngorms.

Over the last 13 seasons, the highest number of avalanches recorded by SAIS was 350 in 2013-14 while the lowest was 90 in 2016-17.

SAIS Northern Cairngorms Avalanche forecasterSAIS Northern Cairngorms
SAIS assesses the avalanche risk in six mountain areas between mid December and mid April
SAIS Southern Cairngorms Dog on avalanche debrisSAIS Southern Cairngorms
A forecaster's dog rests on avalanche debris in the Southern Cairngorms

Earlier in its season, SAIS warned climate change was having a likely impact on avalanche risk.

It said conditions were changing more rapidly and avalanches were occurring in tighter spaces of time.

SAIS said named storms - such as 2021's Storm Barra - brought short, significant periods of "proper winter", raising the avalanche risk.

The storms have often been followed by rising temperatures and snow loss.

But SAIS warned that even in those "leaner" times when there was less snow potential hazards remained, often higher up towards the top of a coire, gully or mountain summit.

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