7:18 a.m., Wednesday, November 13, 2002

   THIS IS AN EARLY SEASON 'GENERAL ADVISORY'. We will likely go back and
   forth between General Advisories and 5 scale ratings until we need to
   go to a daily bulletin. If a 5 scale bulletin is issued it expires at
   midnight on the day of issue and you can expect another bulletin the
   following morning. When a General Advisory is posted another bulletin
   may or may not be issued the following day depending on conditions.
   Climbers heading into Huntington should check the avalanche bulletin
   before leaving Pinkham Notch or Hermit Lake each morning. Until the
   Harvard Cabin opens on December






   1st the avalanche bulletin will not be posted there due to no campers
   being there overnight.

   The summit received 8.8 inches of snow since around noon on Tuesday.
   Initially, winds were from the W, but moved counterclockwise to come
   from the SW, S, E, NE, and is currently holding from the N. Winds were
   light throughout the period moving back and forth in the teens and
   twenties. Winds are forecasted to continue shifting and become NW
   later this morning and increase into the thirties. This will begin
   loading some E, SE, and S facing aspects. Snow will slowly load
   through the day, but due to warm weather and rain over the past
   several days many snow fields have shrunk or disappeared. Huntington
   was particularly hard hit and currently has only isolated snowfields
   broken up by rockledges. The most sizeable areas are still in
   Tuckerman Ravine. Left Gully and the Chute have the largest
   snowfields, but areas North towards the Lip do have some isolated
   patches. So the short of it is that snow will be loading on these
   snowfields today and instability may be found. However due to the
   isolated nature of the hazard a General Advisory is still sufficient.
   Snow is expected through the day with summit temperatures crawling up
   towards 32 degrees F. As this occurs rain may return to avalanche
   start zones and then back to snow towards nightfall. Watch the weather
   closely over the next few days as temperatures and precipitation will
   change practically every hour. Remember if the snowfield is large
   enough to ski or recreate on it's large enough to avalanche. AS
   ALWAYS, THIS BULLETIN IS ONE MORE TOOL TO HELP YOU MAKE YOUR OWN
   DECISIONS IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN. It should be used along with your own
   snow stability assessments, knowledge of safe travel techniques, skill
   in mountain weather's effect on the snowpack, and avalanche rescue.

   Be aware of FALLING ICE. Although we lost just about all the ice in
   the Ravines over the past several days watch for new ice forming and
   then coming off as temperatures rise. Many visitors have been injured
   and killed by falling ice so pay attention to where you are and don't
   linger under potential icefall.

   Pull out your beacon and practice, ONLY YOU CAN SAVE YOUR PARTNER!!
   Review your safe travel rules, techniques for assessing snow
   stability, and sign up for an avalanche course. We have all the
   avalanche courses offered in the valley this winter on our website,
   csac.org.

   PLEASE REMEMBER:

   o Any new precipitation may increase the avalanche danger, this
   includes wind transported snow.

   o Obtain latest weather forecast before starting out.

   o For more information, contact the U.S. Forest Service Snow Rangers:
   AMC at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center or Hermit Lake Shelters.

   o This General Advisory will be updated as needed.

   Christopher Joosen, Snow Ranger
   USDA Forest Service
   White Mountain National Forest