7:16 a.m., Saturday, November 30, 2002

   This is a U.S. 5 Scale Danger Rating 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.

   TUCKERMAN AND HUNTINGTON RAVINES CURRENTLY HAVE CONSIDERABLE AVALANCHE
   DANGER. Natural avalanches are POSSIBLE and human triggered avalanches
   are PROBABLE on steep snow covered open slopes and gullies. Be
   increasing cautious in steeper terrain. In the past 24 hours the
   summit has received 4.2 inches of new snow with water equivalent of
   .36 inches bringing the new snow density to 8.5%. The majority fell
   between 6pm last night and 3am this morning with West winds in the
   40-50 mph range. This light snow and W winds are once again an ideal
   sitution for the Ravines to pick up significant amounts of new slab
   without a sizeable new snowfall. With even a couple inches of snow
   significant slabs can form when ideal densities and winds exist. In
   addition snow is being deposited on an ice crust that high winds swept
   clean in some locations during last weekends storm. Take this into
   account when determining stability with any new snow over the next
   several days. This may cause over confident stability assessments if
   they are done in areas were this crust was already buried verses new
   loading directly on the crust. Light snow and blowing snow tapered a
   bit around 3 or 4 am this morning, but West winds are still moving
   snow to Eastern facing aspects. In addition to Eastern aspects other
   aspects on the eastern side of the range will pick up new loads due to
   cross loading so keep your eyes open in all areas on the lee side of
   the mountain. More snow showers are forecasted through the day with
   winds from the West at 35-55 mph and diminishing later. More snow
   showers are expected tonight and through tomorrow with several inches
   likely so expect an elevated avalanche danger over the entire weekend.
   I expect at least the Considerable rating to prevail. Watch for new
   bulletins discussing any change in the daily rating. Remember if the
   snowfield is large enough to ski, climb, or recreate on it's large
   enough to avalanche.

   2 AVALANCHE FATALITIES IN TUCKERMAN RAVINE 11-29-2002. Yesterday
   morning around 11:20 7 climbers were involved in a class 2 avalanche
   on the right side of the Tuckerman Ravine triggerd in the "Lip" area.
   4 of them were buried, 2 of which were "complete burials" and 2 were
   "partial", but very close to being completely covered with debris. The
   two complete burials were fatal and the other two were very lucky as
   bystanders were able to see the little of them that were showing.
   Those two individuals were uncovered in the first several minutes of
   the rescue. My sincere thoughts go to those effected by this tragedy
   and thanks go to outstanding rescue efforts by those from volunteer
   Search and Rescue groups, namely AVSAR, MRS, and the AMC. New
   Hampshire Fish and Game and the U.S. Forest Service worked closely to
   resolve this potentially complex rescue involving 7 individuals.

   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 expire at midnight.

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