The snowfall across the north does not get in the way of powering homes across Scotland.
Ben Cruachan spends most of the winter blanketed in snow while it towers over Loch Awe near Oban.
On the slopes of the munro is a dam that stores water in a reservoir which is later funnelled into a power station inside the mountain to spin turbines and generate electricity.
When the system becomes too full the liquid is pumped back to the surface to remain in the reservoir until it is needed.
Built on the shores of Loch Awe in the 1960s it was the first of its kind in the world and is still one of only four in the UK while providing power for up to 880,000 homes across the country.
Gordon Pirie, a civil engineer at Cruachan, said: “On a few occasions the snowfall has been so extreme that we’ve been unable to access the dam for a few weeks at a time.
“Thankfully, we have enough controls in place where we are still able to monitor and operate things remotely.
“Even in freezing conditions the water will still flow through the aqueduct system, the intakes have a built-in feature which allows the water to flow into them even if the surface is frozen solid.
“Any snow or frost on the ground eventually thaws and makes its way to the reservoir.”
