Scotland’s avalanche forecast service starts today, but the prospects for the weekend are not great.

Climbers in Lochaber

While avalanche risk is low, at category one, in both Lochaber and the northern Cairngorms, the two areas covered by the reports, there’s little in the way of challenging ice conditions.

In Lochaber, the Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) says there is ‘enough ice for your G&T, but not much more’. Some easy gullies are usable, but it’s ‘not yet a winter wonderland’. The snow in the area has been thawing in the last few days, as temperatures slowly rose, but an overnight frost has left the snowpack with a thin, icy crust above 1,000m.

In the Cairngorms, there is some icing on the plateau, with large areas of firm snow at 1,000m and higher. Strong south-westerly winds are expected to continue with a generally stable snowpack in the next few days.

So it sounds like ideal walking weather in the Highlands, possibly via an odd complete easy gully-line, rather than a chance to try out the harder gullies. An ice-axe and crampons are essential kit at this time of year, along with the knowledge of how to use them.

Next weekend, the avalanche service will start for the three remaining areas: southern Cairngorms, Creag Meagaidh and Glencoe.