Huntington Ravine has LOW avalanche danger today. Natural avalanches are very unlikely and human triggered avalanches are unlikely except in isolated pockets. Normal caution is advised.

Today is the first day in a while that I feel like we aren't juggling all the variables of a complicated weather forecast. Today is an "as is" day for avalanche forecasting because our current conditions shouldn't change much due to dynamic weather. Today's stability issues are limited to new slabs that formed yesterday from new snow that fell, mostly during the morning. In case you erased this from your memory, we did receive over an inch (2.54 cm) of rain on the mountain Saturday followed by a cold front that froze the snowpack into a hard icy mass. This is what is exposed on the surface in many locations around the mountains. In these areas you don't need to bother breaking your shovel in an attempt to do a stability pit. It isn't going anywhere. What you do need to pay attention to are the slabs I mentioned that formed yesterday. Snow totals measured just shy of an inch, however, very strong winds made it difficult to measure the new snow around the mountain. The winds kept many locations scoured clean while depositing the limited amount of new snow in strong lee areas which created new wind slabs. The Bowl, Lip and Headwall have the largest areas of new slab with the Lip being of most concern today. As you head south from the Lip you will find more of the old surface and new snow that is more wind effected creating a less consistent slab. Areas posted at Low have isolated pockets of new slabs in them. A couple of observations this morning found that these pockets have not bonded well to the underlying icy surface. That means that they may be looking for an excuse to end that relationship and head downhill. That excuse could be you walking or skiing on it. Approach these with caution. Good route finding will provide you with plenty of options to avoid these in areas posted at Low.

The recent rain and cold temperatures have created very icy conditions on the mountain. This means that crampon and ice axe skills are going to be crucial to your safety, including solid self arrest skills.

Our next chance for snow comes with a weak Clipper system that will cross the area Tuesday night into Wednesday. Another more significant system is on deck for the weekend that could come down as any and all types of precipitation.

The Lion Head Winter Route is not one of our forecast areas but does have potential to produce avalanches as anchors become covered and the snowfields increase in size. We are currently at that point so it’s important to make your own avalanche stability assessments and use safe travel techniques when following this route. The Sherburne Ski Trail is open with good coverage and a bit of new snow.