Winter has come to town and it wants to shake your hand and kiss your baby! Not wanting to be outdone by the slew of other celebs visiting the Granite State it decided to make a pretty showy entrance. Thursday provided the Summit with just under 2"(5cm) of rain, which was more than enough to hit the reset button. Snow accumulation to that point had been pretty meager and few snowfields of any size were able to hang on through the deluge. As the rain moved out of the area temps began their downward slide and after a four hour break the snowflakes began. The Summit picked up a total of 9.4"(24cm) with very strong winds out of the W and NW. The peak gust was out of the NW at 110mph(176kph) and the average wind speed on Friday was 64.7mph(104kph). This combination of hefty winds and sizeable snowfall should be waving big red flags in your early season brain. Were we in the middle of the season these conditions would likely be pushing ratings into the upper part of the 5 scale system. The reason we're not there now relates to the state of the ravines prior to the arrival of our white friend. With no good bed surfaces on which to lie the snow has resigned itself to falling largely on vegetation and rock. The associated surface roughness will help lend a hand with stability at the interface. Avalanche activity is still possible but it would be most likely to occur within the new snow where there are slight changes in density. That being said, we have now set the stage for upcoming snow events to create a bigger stir in the mountains. Keep a close eye on the weather as the next few days look to be pretty dry but we all know how quickly things can change!

GENERAL EARLY SEASON CONCERNS- We are in early winter in the high mountains so don't plan on being able to follow summer trails safely. Trails going through ravines and gulfs require winter gear and equipment. Be aware that a small slab or sluff can be dangerous. This is particularly true in the steep gullies and slopes of Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines for early season ice climbers. As a climber picks their way through a route they will usually cross small pockets of snow. Often this snow has been deposited over blue ice, making for a poor bond at the interface. Consider this ahead of time and place protection before crossing suspect slopes. It doesn't take much snow to knock you off your feet and depending how high you are this could be a significant problem. Remember if a snowfield is big enough to recreate on, it's big enough to avalanche.

Be aware of falling ice if we get into thaw periods before the real deep winter freeze. Many folks have been injured and killed by falling ice so pay attention to where you are, and don't linger when under ice. Have a plan in mind about what you will do and where you will go if ice comes down. Station yourself near a large rock to duck behind in the event of ice fall.

Don't wait any longer to refresh your avalanche skills. Pull out your beacon, install some fresh high quality alkaline batteries, and practice. Review your safe travel rules, techniques for assessing snow stability, and sign up for an avalanche course. We now have all the avalanche courses offered in the valley this winter on our website, tuckerman.org.