According to experts who monitor the Cairgnorm phenomenon, the longest-lasting snow patch in Britain has melted only eight times in the last 300 years.
The 13ft long strip, also known as “The Sphinx”, is Britain’s most durable snow layer. However, the rate of melting is increasing – it has increased four times in the past five year.
Braeriach, in Cairngorms. There are fears that it will become a victim to climate change. It could experience warmer summers and wetter autumns, and shrinking as a result, says Iain Cameron, mountaineer and author.
Experts explained that it lasted for more than 300 years without melting in summer. However, in four of the five years since then, it has disappeared by the beginning of autumn.
Records show that The Sphinx melted fully in 1933, 1959, 1996, 2003, 2006, 2017, 2018 and 2021, but before 1933, it last fully melted in the 1700s.
It shrunk to the size of an A4 piece of paper in the past few weeks, before finally disappearing in milder weather earlier this week.
The so-called Sphinx, at Braeriach, in the Cairngorms, has survived virtually every summer since records began in the 1700s. This was taken in October
Known as The Sphinx, the 13ft strip of snow at Braeriach, in the Cairngorms (pictured in October), is known to have survived virtually every summer since records began
Scotland has a number of hardy snow patches, but they melt frequently throughout the summer, returning with increased snowfall in the winter.
There are no lasting glaciers in the country, but these snow patches can last throughout the summer, clinging on until the first flurries of winter.
Most of these are on Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland, with others in the Cairngorms, a mountain range in the eastern Highlands.
Experts are worried that its permanent demise may be imminent for all of the snow patches, including the iconic Sphinx.
Mr Cameron is Scotland’s leading snow patch expert, having studied them for decades, and written a book on their history.
He pointed out that four of its disappearances have been within the last 20 years.
‘It was thought never to melt, or at least very infrequently,’ he said, ‘but this will be the third time in five years, which is unprecedented.’
‘I’m not a climatologist but I think it’s a safe assumption to say that rising temperatures are what is ultimately behind this,’ the author added.
The Sphinx – so-called because of the rock climb directly above it – is the UK’s oldest patch of ‘permanent’ snow and since the 1700s has melted in 1933, 1959, 1996, 2003, 2006, 2017, 2018 and 2021.
Mr Cameron explained that it’s the closest thing Scotland has to a glacier and, as a result, is the most closely-studied patch of snow in the British Isles.
The patch can be found along the lip of the ridge of Braeriach, which is the UK’s third-highest mountain, sitting in a very isolated part of the Cairngorms
It can be found along the lip of the ridge of Braeriach, which is the UK’s third-highest mountain, sitting in a very isolated part of the Cairngorms.
It lies in a hollow under the mountain’s ridge, meaning it gets very little sunlight, which allows it to stay frozen, even in the heat of summer.
‘There is a lot of snow there over winter and spring, so as a result there are huge build-ups of snow on the hills which take a long time to melt,’ Mr Cameron said.
The Sphinx has been studied seriously for about 100 years and especially closely since about the 1980s.
It can be found along the lip of the ridge of Braeriach, which is the UK’s third-highest mountain, sitting in a very isolated part of the Cairngorms. Pictured last month
It lies in a hollow under the mountain’s ridge, meaning it gets very little sunlight, which allows it to stay frozen, even in the heat of summer. Pictured last month
The snow of recent years has melted to expose harder, older layers which are now melting too, prompting Mr Cameron to say it now ‘looks inconsequential.’
However, despite the way it looks today, what is left ‘can tell us a lot more than we might first think,’ he explained.
‘Snow patches like this act as a barometer for what the wider climate is doing and I think that’s borne out by the evidence we are seeing.
‘Just the minimal amount of patches are surviving these days compared to how they used to. The amount of snow that falls in winter seems to be less and less, so as far as I’m concerned there’s definitely a trend taking place there.’
The snow of recent years has melted to expose harder, older layers which are now melting too, prompting Mr Cameron to say it now ‘looks inconsequential’. Pictured in October, it has since disappeared
Records show that The Sphinx was fully melted in 33, 1959, 1996 and 2006, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2017 and 2018. However, before 1933, it was last fully melted in 1700s. This is October
Each year, Mr Cameron writes a paper to the Royal Meteorological Society about the condition of snow patches in Scotland.
He stated, “I am not a climatologist nor an academic, but it’s one these strange things that when I do the research, you become curiously connected to,”
“Officially, it doesn’t really matter if the melts, but philosophically and scientifically, they do matter.
“These things can tell us about the climate, and it would be wise to pay attention to what these snow patches are saying to us.
They are small in size, but their importance is great.