Climbing, Skiing, Canoeing, Sea-kayaking & Sailing Conditions

Buchaille Etive Mor, Glencoe

Listed below are all the sites you need to know for finding out winter climbing, skiing, white-water canoeing & sea-kayaking / sailing conditions in the Highlands.

Highland Weather & Mountain Conditions:

Long Range Sea-level Forecast: 15 day forecast for the Fort William area.

3 Day Mountain Forecast for the Western & Eastern Highlands Detailed and largely accurate forecasts for the walker & climber, provided by the Mountain Weather Information Service. Also provides a summary for the rest of the week.
(Acrobat Reader is required to view it - if you don't have it installed download it here.)

Scottish Avalanche Information Service: Essential for the winter mountaineer & also gives mountain weather info. Operates from mid-December to mid - April.
Metcheck - Mountain forecasts for all Scottish hill ranges.
Weather Data from Nevis Range ski area: On Aonach Mor (4006 ft / 1221 mt.) near Ben Nevis.
3 Day Surface Pressure Charts: From the Met Office, covering Europe.
Fort William Weather On-line: Personal website offering a plethora of useful & current weather data.
Local Sunrise & Sunset Times below: Particularly useful for the winter hill-goer.

UK Sunrise & Sunset times: Line up the longitude & latitude to check times.

Winter climbing conditions:

Local mountain-guides, West Coast Mountain Guides & Abacus Mountaineering, have very useful pages on latest conditions & what's being climbed. Updated virtually daily during winter.

Winterhighland - On-line forum for the Scottish winter-sports community.
Climbinfo - Climbing reports page, courtesy of Needlesports outdoor shop in Keswick, English Lake District.

Additionally, feel free to give us a'phone on 01855 821287 if you're wanting to know how conditions are shaping up on the hill.

Webcams:

Inchree - From our place. Cam looks south-west down Loch Linnhe to the Ardgour mountains.
Ben Nevis Advanced cam giving differing zoom views of the north face & Nevis Range ski area.
Buachaille Etive Mor, Glencoe From the Kinghouse Hotel.
Cairngorm Mountain Cams overlooking the Coire Cas ski area.

Whitewater canoeing conditions:

River levels: On selected whitewater rivers, showing current levels and trends.
Recent rainfall patterns: From the Met Office.
The UK Rivers Guidebooks: Great resource, giving descriptive guides to all UK whitewater rivers. Links to West Highland section.

Sea-kayaking & Sailing conditions

Local Inshore Waters: (BBC) Choose no. 27, (Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point.) or no. 28 ('Ardnamurchan to Cape Wrath.)
Local Inshore Waters: (Met Office) Scroll down to 'Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point' and 'Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath'.
Local Coastal Waters: (BBC) Choose no. 27, (Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point.) or no. 28 ('Ardnamurchan to Cape Wrath.)
Coastal Observations: Updated every 3 hours - Choose Lochaline or Oban for most local.
Firth of Lorne Forecast: Area off The Isle of Mull's south-eastern shore, where Loch Linnhe meets the open sea.
Local Tide Tables 6 day tidal predictions. Nos. 363 to 368 are the most local areas. Choose no. 367 (Corran.) for the closest area to Inchree. (500 metres to shoreline.)
More Local Tide Tables 6 day predictions again around the UK coast.

Downhill skiing conditions at Scotland's 5 centres:

Visitscotland - Scottish Tourist board site.
Winterhighland - The forums are also a good part of the site to catch gossip on conditions, and what folk are up to.
Snow-forecast.com - Forecast for Nevis Range.
Snow-forecast.com - Forecast for Glencoe.
Snow-forecast.com - Forecast for Cairngorm.
Snow-forecast.com - Forecast for The Lecht.
Snow-forecast.com - Forecast for Glenshee.

And also the centres' own websites - All are accessible from Inchree, although Cairngorm, Glenshee & The Lecht require an early start:

Glencoe: 20 minutes from Inchree
Nevis Range: - 20 minutes from Inchree.
Cairngorm Mountain: 1.5 hours from Inchree
Glenshee: 2 hours from Inchree
The Lecht: 2 hours from Inchree.