We ran our first snow hole trip of the year last weekend. We left on Friday morning and could not have picked a better day. In all the years I have been on Cairn Gorm plateau, I have never seen weather as good as this.

The whole area was white with amazing snow and you could see for miles. Our original plan was to be at the snow hole site by 2pm but we spent so much time taking pictures and enjoying the view we ended up being an hour late.

However this was not a problem; the evening was so good that we we’re treated to a stunning sunset on top of one of Scotland’s highest mountains. We set about building our snow hole. The snow was in excellent condition and came away in huge blocks that made digging very easy. We dug our entrance tunnel and then created a very comfortable sleeping platform. Once in our sleeping bags, we got the stove going, the radio tuned and enjoyed a relaxing evening with main meals and dessert before dropping of to sleep.

Next day we were up early and enjoyed beans and sausages with a hot cup of tea. Once the kit was packed, we set off back across the plateau. For a short while, at least, we had the whole plateau all to ourselves. Here is a Google map of where we snow holed that night.

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