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

The northwest flow came in like a sluiced freight train during the afternoon yesterday. Winds went from 105kph (65mph) in the morning to a max of 210kph (133mph) around 1pm. This pushed the system off shore producing clear skies during the overnight. The winds and clear skies have had some interesting effects on the snowpack. High W and WNW winds moved a tremendous amount of snow over from windward side of the mountain. It is likely that the developing thin crust was ripped open and the lighter snow underneath was transported easily into lee areas on easterly facing aspects. Areas such as Hillmans, Left gully, the Chute, and the Lip are some examples of areas that grew in size over the past 24 hours. Evidence of avalanche activity is present in several areas in both Ravines, but it is difficult to say definitively due to high winds obliterating the debris. We believe some activity occurred in Dodges Drop, Hillman's, and Left Gully in Tuckerman as well as South, O'Dells, and Central in Huntington. Slide activity with northerly aspects likely ran approximately 40 hours ago when the storm begin with SE and S winds. The current snow surface is once again a mixed bag. You will find highly wind affected hard slab, crust, and soft slab in strong lee areas that were protected from high winds. These pockets are the areas of greatest concern right now. Examples of this in Tuckerman include high in the Chute, across areas high in the Headwall, high in the Bowl under the Headwall ice, and the Lip. Huntington has similar pockets of concern under Pinnacle and the Harvard Bulge. Clear skies allowed for some long wave heat loss which created some very early faceting and strong temperature gradients below the 4mm surface crust at Hermit Lake. This is something we will keep at least one eye on and see how it develops. This issue as well as the different surface conditions will certainly effect the variability of stability during the next loading event. Bonding will likely vary greatly from the crust to soft slab to the "textured" hard slab. Speaking of new precipitation it appears we are due for another weather machine to come chugging in tomorrow. The familiar "wintry mix" will be the main course served with an appetizer of snow and possibly some rain for dessert. Depending which weather model menu you would like to read we could receive water equivalents (QPF) of over 2.5cm (1in) before it wraps up late Saturday. AHHH, good old New England!!

The John Sherburne Ski Trail is improving with every bit of snow we receive. It is still undoubtedly in early season condition and you can expect abrupt waterbars, lots of bushes and rocks hidden under Tuesday's new snow. A thin .5cm (.2in) crust should make it a bit more challenging so be prepared for less than ideal conditions.

Remember if the snowfield is large enough to ski 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 use along with your own snow stability assessments, knowledge of safe travel techniques, skill in reading mountain weather's effect on the snowpack and avalanche rescue. To improve these skills take an avalanche course. We have all the avalanche courses offered in and around the Mt. Washington Valley this winter on our website, tuckerman.org.