The main arterial route to the Highlands was closed for hours last night after a three vehicle pile-up in blizzard conditions.
The snowgates at either end of the notorious Drumochter Pass on the A9 Inverness to Perth road were shut after the incident involving a snow plough, a lorry and a car.
No one was badly injured but the accident, between Wade Bridge and Dalnacardoch Lodge, brought the trunk road to a standstill as agencies struggled to recover the large vehicles and clear the route of snow.
Transport Scotland said later that the A9 was now open in both directions at Drumochter.
It was not the only problem on that section of the main road, as two vehicles crashed at Dalwhinnie in separate incidents, within 300 yards and 20 minutes of each other.
Last night the Met Office issued yellow “be aware” warnings for snow and ice across the Highlands and islands. Forecasters said there could be several inches of snow on high ground, with the possibility of smaller accumulations at lower levels.
Yesterday’s accident at Drumochter involved a car colliding with the rear of the plough operated by roads contractor Bear Scotland.
The gritter was assisting a lorry in snow conditions at the time.
A total of five fire appliances were mobilised to the scene but three were turned back when it emerged that the incident was not as serious as first thought.
A fire service spokes-woman said that crews from Kingussie and Newtonmore attended but were not required to cut anyone out of the vehicles.
It is understood no-one was seriously injured in the crash but the Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed paramedics attended the scene.
Just 40 minutes later, a car crashed off the road further north at Dalwhinnie, with a second car colliding with a barrier just 300 yards away at 2.50pm.
Bear Scotland said that it would have eight ploughs and two fast tractors working on the A9 at Drumochter to ensure the road could reopen as soon as possible.
Bad weather also caused problems for CairnGorm Mountain.
The snowgates were closed at Glenmore, as 70mph winds and blizzards swept the area.
Bosses said it was unlikely to open for snowsports today because of the poor weather forecast.