Rescue teams have been out both north and south of the border as blizzard condiitons hit the hills plus where to see the latest weather information
While everyone else is moaning about the arctic weather, roads
grinding to a halt etc, most outdoors people are grinning like
Cheshire cats and praying that the snow'll hang around on the hills
till the weekend, when milder conditions are forecast.
Mind yourself in those blizzard conditions though. Up in Scotland,
two
climbers were rescued by a helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth after
they were reported overdue after tackling Black Spout Gully on
Lochnagar, a classic easy snow climb, but possibly not a good choice
with fresh snow accumulating.
According to this
story rescue teams blasted the English couple involved saying
that "They were very silly to even contemplate going up there given
the severity of the weather forecasts.
"If they had listened to the warnings in the first place we
wouldn't have had to go up there looking for them.
"Weather conditions were so bad that climbing would have been very
difficult, but for some reason they still decided to undertake a
significant climb.
Meanwhile, the Scottish
Avalanche Information Service is forecasting 'considerable' or
'high' risk of avalanche in all the five main climbing areas it
covers as new snow accumulates and winds lead to cornice build up as
the fresh snow is moved around the mountain. Our advice is to check
the latest forecast before heading out north of the border.
Meanwhile, south of the border, a walker
who became separated from his brother and lost in blizzard
conditions on Saddleworth Moor, near Oldham, was located by rescue
teams with dogs after his mobile phone emergency call was received by
Humberside Coast Guard...
For the latest weather conditions, check last week's OM
weather round-up, the forecast links will still work. And be
careful out there, latest forecast for the Lakes, for example, says
that while temperatures on the tops will be around minus 4 C, the
windchill factor means it'll feel closer to minus 19 C...
Finally, if you want to see how much snow there is on them there
mountains, check out the OM
web cam page.
