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Attempting to De-Ice the West Wall Poma.
A frozen sea of Water Ice beyond the Ptarmigan.
Iced up fencing on the Ptarmigan Run.
Fencing on the Ciste Fairway, shows the scale of the icing that has occured.
View from the 105 at the end of the day.
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A selection of photos from CairnGorm on Saturday, which enjoyed an unexpected day of mostly blue skies and sunshine, in strack contrast to the poor visibility and rain/drizzle that has plagued the Northern 'Gorms in recent days.
The dramatic effect of the rain which fell in constantly sub-zero temperatures on the upper mountain is clear to see from the substantial ice build up on the fence lines, and similar build up on the lifts meant de-icing was a major undertaking and an almost non-stop one on Friday.
Coire Cas is offering the best surface conditions with somewhat softer snow, but was the quieter area on Saturday with the Ciste Tow reported to be the busiest. Snow is firm but grippy where pisted up top, but hardpacked with an icy crust beyond the pisted areas.
If you are venturing out winter walking or are descending from climbing great care is needed as the higher slopes of the Northern 'Gorms are entombed in water ice following what has been quite an exceptional period of weather, with rain falling despite North winds and sub-zero temperatures for much of the week thanks to a temperature inversion which has mostly been above the tops.
Thanks to Helen Rennie for today's photos, remember to send in your pics to pix@winterhighland.com.