7:12 a.m., Tuesday, November 26, 2002

   This is a 'General Advisory' avalanche bulletin for Tuckerman and
   Huntington Ravines. 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.

   Well we're almost at the end of November and once again, as October,
   we are above average for snow fall on the summit. Lets hope this a
   winter long trend. Light snow has been falling on the summit with a
   total of 0.8 inches for the 24 hours preceding the 7:00am observations
   Tuesday morning. Blowing snow and snow showers are expected for today,
   Tuesday, with winds from the NW at 25-35 mph. After the weekend snow
   and high winds snowfields in both ravines have increased in size.
   However, snow fell on an ice crust which high winds swept clean in
   some locations not protected by terrain features above. So currently
   you will find mixed surface conditions. New snow deposits can be found
   in areas such as the bottom half of Left Gully, under the Chute, and
   sporadically between rocks in the bowl. Many other locations have an
   icy crust. Take this into account when determining stability with any
   new snow over the next several days. New snow falling on an ice crust
   won't bond nearly as well as those with new snow deposits. This may
   cause over confident stability assessments if they are done in areas
   of decent strength on new snow verses the ice crust. This spatial
   variability will be something to keep on the forefront of decision
   making over the next several days. So the short of it is that snow
   will be loading on these areas today and instability may be found.
   However due to the isolated nature of the hazard a General Advisory is
   sufficient. Remember if the snowfield is large enough to ski, climb,
   or recreate on it's large enough to avalanche.

   AS ALWAYS, THIS ADVISORY 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.

   Pull out your beacon, probe, and shovel and practice, pracTICE!,
   PRACTICE!!, PRACTICE!!! ONLY YOU CAN SAVE YOUR PARTNER!! 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 avalanche bulletin will be updated as needed.

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