The 2013 #Scotwinter Sweepstakes: place your bets!

We are on the verge of that special time of year when the mountaineer’s thoughts begin to turn to the big question: when will the snow return? For the UK’s highest mountains, summer is a brief pause. If you find yourself pondering the first snowfall question in August, you know you’ve really been bitten by the Scottish winter bug!

In the spirit of enthusiasm I propose a sweepstakes.

1. For the purposes of this competition (which isn’t to be taken too seriously) I shall judge ‘first snowfall’ to count as the first snow that settles on one or more Scottish mountains for more than a few hours.
2. Tiny flurries that melt as soon as they hit the ground can occur at any time of year and don’t count.
3. Place your bets by commenting below or by tweeting me at @alex_roddie. Alternatively there is a UKC thread where you can place your bets. You only get one guess and can’t amend it a few weeks later based on more accurate forecasts. I’ll record all bets in this blog post.
4. You can choose either an exact date or a given week (eg. “first week of October”). Saying “some time in November”, for example, is too vague!
5. Winners specifying a week range shall receive a free digital copy of one of my books of their own choice. I hope to have released The Forbes Challenge by then so people who have read my two existing titles should have something new to look forward to!
6. Winners specifying an exact date shall receive a paperback copy of The Only Genuine Jones.

Al de Ba Last week of August
@alex_roddie 1st week of September
Lew13 2nd of September (on the Ben)
Cameron94 3rd of September
Simon Yearsley 4th of September
keith-ratcliffe 4th of September
Simon Caldwell 5th of September
Iain Cameron 8th of September
@Caleyscribbler 10th of September (above 2,600ft in Lochaber)
@FlintyRich 10th of September at 12:27pm
@fbroon79 14th of September
@greedyrunner 15th of September
@Barry_the_cat 3rd week of September
@CountrysideBen 3rd week of September
@edvones 3rd week of September
cfer 17th of September
Daniel Sutherland 18th of September

@Spacemouse77 19th-21st of Sepember
Chris Sleight 20th of September
@rossmacscot 21st of September
wee jamie 22nd of SeptemberCookie (North East Wales MC) 23rd of September
TobyA 23rd of September@DavieRob10 24th of September
NottsRich 24th of September
@andyblackett 25th of September
crowberry gully 25th of September
fire_munki 25th of September
alooker 27th of September (morning)
@BathosProfundo 27th of September
@IrishHillwalker 29th of September
SeanB 29th of September
Jim Walton 30th of September
Susan Fletcher 1st of October
Goose299 1st week of October
Jennifer Will 2nd of October
Ann S 3rd of October
Gareth Lynn 4th of October
@walkhikeaholic 9th of October
neon_blue 12th of October
Andrew Mallinson 13th of October@StrachanHazel 14th of October
@CliveVardakis 16th of October
@pixiepippi 17th of OctoberMelanie Holdsworth 17th of October
Richard Prideaux 3rd week of October
@nickbramhll 21st of October
@ArrocharAlps 24th of October
Joak 24th of October
@Areteroute 27th of OctoberDundeeDave 1st full week of November
Martin Rye 15th of November
tattoo2005 6th of December
abseil 5th of February 2014 (bit pessimistic this one!)