Ground Conditions
Time: At the summit around 0900
Snow above: 1000m
Route taken: Miners' path
Next report: Friday 13-12-2024
Conditions
Only a little snow was seen today high up, but there were several icy areas on the mountain.
From around 750m there were a number of small areas of ice. Although there was only a little ice lower down on the mountain it consisted of clear slippery ice which was avoidable, but difficult to see, and could easily catch out the weary or the unwary.
A little higher up there was more frozen snow lying on the mountain, with the paths freeze dried, and easy to walk with a little care.
Close to the summit there was a more wintry feel, with wider areas of hard ice and thin, but hard and icy snow, where care was needed to walk safely without slipping.
A cloudy morning with a strong and very cold easterly wind.
Essential equipment
Seasonally appropriate walking equipment, including lighting (such as a head torch).
Carrying an ice axe and some kind of spikes for the feet will give you options to stay safe on areas of ice or snow (see Additional Information below).
Additional Information
On the day of Tuesday's report the forecast suggests temperatures will be close to or below freezing for most of the period until the next report on Friday. Temperatures as low as -4˚C are predicted at the summit, feeling as low as -13˚C at times. The easterly winds are likely to make it feel particularly cold.
The low temperature, together with probable fog means that conditions are likely to be increasingly icy in the coming days. This is true for areas close to the summit, but also more widely on the mountain, freezing as low as 500m at times.
Although the forecast suggest that it is likely not to rain during the period, with low temperatures and cloudy conditions this possibility cannot be completely avoided. It looks like Thursday night/Friday morning higher up on the mountain the probability of this is highest, and once again it's worth keeping an eye on the latest forecasts.