Film: Ben Macdui Skiing... in August!

© Iain Cameron

The crap summer has been great for snow patches. In fact it's been the snowiest summer since 1994, according to expert Iain Cameron, who conducts an annual survey of the wintry remnants that can survive through the season in the Scottish highlands. On 30th August he filmed some friends skiing one of this year's many remaining patches. Wait for the fascinating shots from underneath!

  

'The very poor summer of 2015, coupled with the previous snowy winter, has meant that far more snow is around this year than any since 1994' says Iain, who is still finalising the results of this year's mammoth survey.

'It’s very likely that we’ll have snow persisting till next winter in places where it normally does not.'

'The patch that was skied on in this film is called the ‘Feith Buidhe slabs’, so-called for its proximity to the rocky feature on Ben Macdui where the Feith Buidhe stream runs over the rocks, here. This particular patch survived until winter last year, albeit it was very small when lasting snow came.'

Exploring a snow tunnel on Ben Nevis this August  © Iain Cameron
Exploring a snow tunnel on Ben Nevis this August
© Iain Cameron

'Summer snow-patch skiing has been pretty well documented in the last few years. Helen Rennie of Inverness, whom I know, has helped to raise this awareness due to the fact that she’s skied 70 consecutive months in Scotland now.'

'It’s not uncommon to see skiers in June and even July, particularly on Ben Nevis and the Cairngorms. However, it tends to be the real ‘hard core’ like Helen who carry the skis to the remote areas in September and October when it has melted everywhere else. Why do they do this? Who knows! For my part, as a snow patch researcher, it’s just fascinating as to why these things endure when all around has disappeared.'

 

 


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