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In pictures: Scotland's avalanche season

Southern Cairngorms SAIS An avalanche forecaster's dog walks along a narrow path made from wooden planks. It is snowing and there is snow on the ground.Southern Cairngorms SAIS
A four-legged member of SAIS Southern Cairngorms' team on patrol.

It is almost a month since the start of Scotland's latest avalanche season, and teams of forecasters have been battered by wind and rain in their hunt for the potentially fatal hazard.

Six mountain areas - Lochaber, Glen Coe, Creag Meagaidh, Torridon and Northern and Southern Cairngorms - are monitored for the risk from between mid-December to mid-April.

The Scottish Avalanche Information Service's (SAIS) forecasts are used by hillwalkers, climbers and snowsports enthusiasts to plan their visits to the hills.

Its teams of forecasters have encountered a mixed bag of weather conditions this season so far.

December was mild, wet and windy but in more recent days snow has been falling heavily over the summits.

SAIS Lochaber A group of three walkers stand in snow. They are wearing winter climbing clothing and two of them have their hoods up. There is a rucksack and a pair of walking poles on the snow-covered ground. SAIS Lochaber
Summits in Lochaber are among those monitored for avalanche activity.
SAIS Lochaber The waterfall rushes down a steep mountainside. Mountain summits rise about the rushing white water. SAIS Lochaber
Lochaber's 120m (394ft) Steall Falls in full flow. The waterfall was used as a backdrop in the 2005 film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Eleven avalanches have been recorded so far.

There were 171 last season, most of them occurring naturally.

But 17 were triggered by human activity such as walking or skiing and a total of 34 people were caught up in the slides, according to SAIS's 2023-24 annual report.

SAIS Creag Meagaidh The craggy mountainside is dusted with snow. There is a lochan below the crags and wispy white cloud above the summits.SAIS Creag Meagaidh
Snow dusted crags and gullies of the Post Face of Coire Ardair on the Creag Meagaidh team's patch.

SAIS said 13 people were carried a significant distances by avalanches.

Fortunately, there were no fatalities.

In its report, SAIS said: "A number of avalanche occurrences with human involvement were often small releases, but others were more significant and resulted in people being carried down by the avalanche, some with very lucky escapes."

SAIS Lochaber A long line of low cloud lies where a snowline starts on the mountain. SAIS Lochaber
Low cloud along the snowline on Carn Dearg.
SAIS Northern Cairngorms A person rides a snow mobile up a snow-covered slope in the Cairngorms. There is a snow covered landscape sprawled out behind the rider, a patchwork of fields and forestry.SAIS Northern Cairngorms
A winter wonderland-like scene in the Northern Cairngorms.
SAIS Torridon The mountain of An Teallach on the right and mountains of an area known as the Last Great Wilderness. The landscape is covered in snow.SAIS Torridon
Mountains as far as the eye can see in a photo taken by SAIS Torridon.
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