Huntington Ravine has Moderate avalanche danger today. Natural avalanches are unlikely and human triggered avalanches are possible. Use caution in steep terrain.

Expect increasing avalanche danger today with the potential for some areas to be on the upper end of their forecasted rating later in the day.

We are on the northern edge of a Nor'easter that is expected to dump nearly a foot of snow in coastal and southern areas of the State. Our slice of the pie isn't as large with the forecast calling for 3 to 6" (7.6 to 15 cm) of snow in the mountains with the upper end of that forecast seeming like a stretch. If you plan on being in avalanche terrain today, get an early start as all forecast areas are starting the day with Low avalanche danger. This is going to change as the day progresses and there are a lot of variables to consider. First let's look at what the new snow will be trying to bond with. Both Ravines are dominated by a very hard icy snowpack that provided great snow climbing conditions over the weekend. This is going to be a challenging surface for the new snow to bond with and provide a nice bed surface for future avalanches. The second factor to focus on is the wind. Winds are forecasted to be out of the E and NE between 40 and 60 mph (65 and 96 kph). These wind directions are not ideal for loading the new snow into the Ravines; however, they are still capable of creating wind slab issues. While the winds are out of the east, cross-loading will occur on north and south aspects in both Ravines. As the winds shift more to the NE, southerly aspects will be picking up more snow than other areas which is why Right Gully has been posted at Considerable. South aspects in Huntington, such as Damnation and North Gullies, will also be loading more than other areas when the winds shift to the NE but the disjointed nature of the snowfields in these locations kept their rating at Moderate. The third significant factor in today's stability ratings are the forecasted snow totals. If we are fortunate enough to receive the upper end of the forecasted totals there will be plenty of snow available to create stability issues and I would expect some areas to be at the upper end of the Moderate rating, pushing Considerable by the end of the day. The possibility of you triggering an avalanche will become very real later in the day, especially on south aspects.

Snow may linger in the mountains overnight and winds will shift to the N and NNW overnight and into tomorrow. This shift in wind will continue to increase instabilities in the Ravines through the day tomorrow as the wind direction becomes more favorable for wind loading.

Until we have enough new snow to make the hard surface conditions a memory, you will need crampons, an ice axe and solid self arrest skills to travel safely in steep terrain. This includes travel on the Lion Head Winter Route. The Sherburne Ski Trail has hard pack conditions that will be covered by today's snow.