•General Situation

•Mountain Weather for Sat/Sun 17th/18th May

•Winterhighland Webcams

•Touring & Backcountry / Winter Climbing

•Ski Area Contact Numbers

UCI Mountain Bike World Cup at the Nevis Range from 6th to 8th June. Tickets on sale now at www.fortwilliamworldcup.co.uk .

:: General Situation

If you've been getting used to enjoying summer warmth and sunshine that dominated the closing weekend at CairnGorm Mountain a couple of weeks ago and has dominated the weather in the Highlands since, this weekend could be a shock to the system!

Much colder weather is forecast but it is expected to remain largely dry, ground and air frosts for night and the daytime FL could be close to Munro Level over the next few days at times, so if you are going out into the hills be prepared for colder conditions than we've been accustomed to during the first half of May.

The lift served mountain bike season is underway at Nevis Range, but for those willing to hike or with touring gear there are still options for some late spring sliding, but surface conditions are likely to be hard on the tops.

At CairnGorm large snowfields remain on the Plateau, but snowcover has contined to reduce steadily within the ski area, so more walking to get to the snow than last week. See the thread 'anything left' in our forums for the latest discussion on what snow is still lurking for those determined to get some more turns in. Also if you do manage to layout some turns, some pix and a report in the public or Backcountry report section would be great!

Over in the West at Glencoe the Spring Run and Main Basin remain complete and we've heard the Access Chairs reopening for Summer is Saturday (but we haven't been able to confirm this for sure, we shall try again later). A walk over the Plateau will take you to snow part way up the middle slopes if you have the advantage of touring gear.

At Nevis the snow on the front of the mountain has receded rapidly into the central bed of the Goose Snowfield, there is much more extensive cover in the Back Corries, but it will involve a lot of leg work to get there and back. However people managed to log descents of Coire Dubh last weekend getting a good way down the Braveheart Chair, though the snow line is likely to have risen at least a bit during the warm week just past.

If you are heading out into any of the mountains to look for spring snow, please bear in mind that though the SAIS avalanche forecasts have ended for the season this does not mean the avalanche risk has gone away. People were caught in wet snow slides on the Cas Headwall on CairnGorm the first weekend of May! Late season conditions create the potential for very large deep seated or in vulnerable locations full depth wet snow slides with long run outs.

Looking back to the last day of the season on the May Day holiday and with light winds and largely unbroken sunshine this was classic Scottish late season sliding, T-shirt skiing on great spring snow with over 400 skiers enjoying a fantastic day. Lots of action going on in the park areas, both on the huge kicker and the more down to earth rollers in the mini boarder cross course. Though with quite fast spring snow and a bit of a tail wind the rollers in the Ciste Bowl had a bit more kick to them than they appeared to!

:: Mountain Weather for Sat/Sun 17th/18th May

It will remain by and large dry, but much cooler for the mountains with the Scottish Highlands and there is a possibility of the occasional hail shower or snow flurry over the weekend on the Munros, but also bright or sunny spells.

Winds should be light to moderate and night frosts can be expected to low levels with the daytime FL likely to be below the higher tops. Munro Level temperature between 0 and +3°c. Much the same again on Monday and Tuesday.

:: Winterhighland Webcams

If you need an early weather check our webcams at the Scottish Ski Club Hut on CairnGorm Mountain update from first light which is currently shortly after 4.30am.

Clicky.

:: Touring & Backcountry / Winter Climbing

Tours are still been undertaken, see the reports for details. If you have been out in the mountains and managed to get some tours/routes in please spare a few moments to post a report in either the Backcountry & Touring Reports or the UK Ice Conditions Server as appropriate. Registered members can upload photos (up to 2mb each) to our server as part of their report.

:: Ski Area Contact Numbers

Glencoe: 0871 871 9929
Nevis Range: 01397 705825
Lecht: 01975 651440
CairnGorm: 01479 861261
Glenshee: 013397 41320