The Cairngorms
As well as containing five of Scotland's highest mountains, the Cairngorms are the range where snow persists longest, and in more locations, than anywhere else in the UK. Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm and Braeriach all contain long-lying patches that have been observed for many years.
On Ben Macdui, snow has been known to persist at a few locations from one winter to the next, but the location where more survivals have been noted than any other is grid reference NH994010, close to the Garbh Uisge Beag, which drains into Loch Avon. This patch sits at an altitude of 1,060 metres (3,478 ft).
Lying at the north-eastern shoulder of Cairn Gorm is Ciste Mhairead. This hollow contains a patch which, hitherto, was known to persist through many years, but has not done so since 2000. Observations in 2007 and 2008 revealed that September was the month when final melting occurred for this patch. It sits at an altitude of 1,095 metres (3,593 ft) and is located at approximately grid reference NJ011046.
Braeriach's Garbh Choire Mòr is the place which contains Britain's most persistent snow beds. Snow has been absent from this corrie just 5 times in the last century: 1933, 1959, 1996, 2003 and 2006. Sitting at an altitude of about 1,140 metres (3,740 ft), these patches are located around grid reference NN940980; the two most long-lasting patches are known as "the Pinnacles" and "the Sphinx" after the rock climbs lying above them.
In 1994, the Cairngorms and surrounding mountains of north-east Scotland had 55 surviving patches, an exceptional number.
Read more about this topic: Snow Patches In Scotland