In pictures: Frozen footprints and avalanches on Scotland's snowy peaks

News imageSAIS Lochaber The hut has a corrugated roof and walls. It is almost buried by snow. A ski life is visible in the gloom behind it.SAIS Lochaber
The latest avalanche season was snowier than the previous one.

The Scottish Avalanche Information Service has wound up its latest season after recording seven times the number of avalanches it did in the previous one.

Its forecasters provide information on potential hazards in Lochaber, Glen Coe, Northern Cairngorms, Southern Cairngorms, Creag Meagaidh and Torridon.

The service, known as SAIS, has recorded a provisional figure of 294 avalanches for the latest season.

In the 2024-25 there were 42, the fewest in almost 40 years of the service.

The highest number of avalanches recorded by SAIS was 350 in 2013-14 while the previous lowest figure was 90 in 2016-17.

News imageSAIS Lochaber The debris is made up of big lumps of snow that has slid down a snow-covered slope. There are rocky outcrops nearby.SAIS Lochaber
Avalanche debris in Number Three Gully on Ben Nevis in a picture taken on 22 February.

SAIS seasons run from mid-December to mid-April.

High winds have been a feature of the latest season, with named storms including Chandra and Dave bringing some of the strongest gusts.

There have also been periods when there was lots of snow - and calm conditions - including in February when ski resorts reported enjoying one of their best winters in years.

Cairngorm Mountain, Glencoe Mountain and Nevis Range were able to continue to offer snowsports over the past few days.

Over the Easter weekend, Glencoe Mountain posted on social media: "Skiing in April? Would you believe it?"

It described the conditions as "some of the best of the season".

In past winters, snowsports have been possible in May - and even June.

News imageSAIS Lochaber The frozen footprints are slightly above the rest of the snowy ground. They look like white blobs.SAIS Lochaber
Frozen footprints revealed on Aonach Mor by wind blowing away a covering finer snow.
News imageSAIS Glencoe Glencoe Mountain ski area is covered in snow. There is a snow fence and in the distance ski lift infrastructure. The sky above is grey and cloudy.SAIS Glencoe
Glencoe Mountain ski area on Easter Sunday.
News imageSAIS Glencoe The objects in the image are almost obscured by low cloud. The mast is caked in ice and rises above an area of ground covered in a meringue-like covering of ice.SAIS Glencoe
Rime ice - milky deposits of ice crystals - cover a communications mast and the ground below in Glen Coe on 25 January.
News imageSAIS Southern Cairngorms The ski tourers stand in drifting snow near a rocky outcrop.SAIS Southern Cairngorms
A ski tour group on a wild day in the Southern Cairngorms on 5 February.
News imageSAIS Northern Cairngorms A climber walks up a snow-covered slope in the Northern Cairngorms. He is dwarfed by a snowy mountain rising before him.SAIS Northern Cairngorms
There were times this winter when calmer conditions allowed climbers to get out into the mountains, including the Northern Cairngorms.
News imageSAIS Southern Cairngorms A sweeping moor with a covering of frost. The fogbow appears to arch above the silhouette of the person photographing it.SAIS Southern Cairngorms
A fogbow pictured in the Southern Cairngorms in December.
News imageSAIS Southern Cairngorms Ski tourers walking up a snow covered slope at Glas Maol in the Southern Cairngorms. The skiers are walking in a line up a steep slope under a blue sky.SAIS Southern Cairngorms
Ski tourers at Glas Maol in the Southern Cairngorms on 14 February.
News imageSAIS Creag Meagaidh Mist-covered mountain crags and cliffs in the Creag Meagaidh area.SAIS Creag Meagaidh
An atmospheric scene at Creag Meagaidh soon after the latest season kicked off.
News imageSAIS Torridon A snow-capped Liathach reflected in the mirror-like surface of a loch. SAIS Torridon
A snow-capped Liathach in Torridon last week.
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