The longest-lasting patch of snow in Britain has melted for just the eighth time in the past 300 years, according to experts monitoring the Cairgnorm phenomenon.
Known as 'The Sphinx', the 13ft strip is the 'most durable patch of snow' in Britain, but the rate of melting appears to be increasing - four times in the past five years.
Found at Braeriach, in the Cairngorms, there are fears it could become a victim of climate change, with warmer summers, wetter autumn and colder winters, causing it to get smaller, says mountaineer and author Iain Cameron.
It lasted most of 300 years without melting in the summer, but in four of the last five years it has disappeared by the start of autumn, experts explained.
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
