Snow Factor Braehead Saturday 29 December

Since Glencoe was blown out today, went for an hour long shred at Snow Factor.

Glencoe Thursday 27th December 2012

First day of the season. Manage to get up while on Christmas break which is always good.
Still a ways to go before full coverage is achieved. However the basins are filling in. Lots of wins either side of this day. Proving quite gardens in these stormy conditions. Air temperature is quite warm also. Snow itself was good. Mostly spent time in main basin by took a trip across the top of Rannoch glades and down Spring run. Hope the storms that follow don't destroy what's there. They may bring more snow for new year. Fingers crossed. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day look promising.
Conditions for Thursday were not too cold. Some icy scrapes, but most snow in the right place was good.

Black Mount August 2012

Midges abound and tics sucked my blood, two Munros climbed.

July Arran Cycle

Arran from Michael MacDonald on Vimeo.

Two days around Arran

To blog or not to blog

Hmmm?

Contour HD footage from Chamonix Trip in February

I didn't use my ContourHD nearly enough and only took POV stuff. Will definitely make more use of it in the future. Presuming there is one...

Glencoe 21st April 2012

Well, over the last week I've been watching the weather from my office with interest. The webcams have been teasing me with late season snow reviving Glencoe Mountain Resort.
They opened midweek but were dissappointed by the numbers showing up.
Saturday looked promising. Most of the drive up was sunny but as usual, on arrival I saw the cloud was sitting on the top of the mountain.
The top t-bar was running. However the uptrack was super gnarly. Even came off once. It was littered with base grinding rocks and occasionally lifted you by the crotch over some of the many dips.
Mustn't complain though. This is the first chance to slide since Chamonix in February. No Scottish snow the whole of March!
Despite visibility being poor the snow was actually pretty good. Etive Glades, top of Happy Valley was fun with soft buttery spring snow. The rocks were taking their toll and a few runs later I was finding my heelside turns were dragging. If I plan to go up tomorrow I'll need to get the sandpaper and p-tex out.
Wasn't cold and wind was minimal. I swear I saw midges on the slopes!

Going to sleep on it and maybe head up again tomorrow. Beggars can't be choosers.

Flickr Slideshow

Why not try viewing this full screen?

Chamonix February 2012

Not been a lot happening this spring largely due to the lack of snow. Only three days in Scotland, a tragedy.
Anyway to make up for it I thought I'd post the video Tony Marsh made. A photographer, he was part of the large group that spent three days exploring the Chamonix Valley during one of the coldest spells it had seen in a while.
Snow conditions were excellent and fun was had despite -20 C. Judge for yourself.

Glencoe 29 January 2012

Having missed some sunny days midweek Sunday was the only day I could do. There was a chance of sunny spells but as daylight broke it was clear the clouds were here to stay.
Winds were light and temperature just below zero.
We went straight up as lower slopes were scoured. The main basin had great snow but viz was down to nothing. You must use the force and feel your way down. A few runs up top and we decided to swap snow conditions for visibility instead. Hard in places but complete, we spent the rest if the day on Mugs Alley with its dirty knuckles and fresh grass sections which you could even smell as you skipped over the vegetation. This was compensated for with a rest on the Cliffy chairlift.
Lifts closed and everyone converged on the Plateau Run. My holiday, a week from now, passed before my eyes as I heard ski turns closing in on me from behind. Skis appeared either side of my right leg. The skier spun around, grabbing me and as I tried to keep both of us upright I could feel my thigh muscle pulling and burning. We keeled over together and he ended up on top of me. Pride dented and board scratched but no one hurt permanently.
A good day all in all and the staff did a grand job as usual despite conditions.

Glencoe 15th January 2012

Stayed in Cardross Saturday night, nearly slept in and didn't leave till 8.30, but the morning was crisp and the road was clear. Blue skies until the top of Loch Lomond then a few clouds trapped amongst the peaks. Driving up Rannoch Moor, the top of the resort looked cloud bound while it's surroundings we're bathed in sunlight. This didn't last all day though as the wind, light though it was moved the mist onward.
Conditions were hard. No fresh snow for a while and the mountain was looking bare. Main Basin was ok when there was visibility, but very noisy and hard on the edges.
Tested out the ContourHD camera and different mounts. Will check results when I get home. Fresh but not too cold. -3 to -5 maybe. It was about zero at the carpark. Unfortunately it's still too early in the year for the sun to bathe the north facing slopes but better than sitting in the house on a Sunday.

To shred or not to shred?

Maybe Glencoe snowboard on Sunday?