All areas in Huntington Ravine have CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger today. Natural avalanches are possible and human triggered avalanches are probable. Unstable slabs are probable on steep terrain. Be increasingly cautious in steeper terrain.

Think a minute before you wish for warmer weather today. Although the summit is currently -22C(-9F) we might push well above freezing on Thursday. A little bit of cold is a lot better than a January thaw in my book! Currently winds are dying down from their high of 174kph(108mph) and are expected to slow to 48-72kph(30-45mph) by the afternoon. During these strong winds the summit received 5.6cm(2.2in) of new snow and recorded blowing snow for 24 hourly observations in a row. These winds have been from the WSW, W & WNW thereby blowing snow directly into both ravines. Tremendous crossloading was also observed this morning in Huntington and most aspects are being effected. We haven't seen winds this strong in quite a while so they're moving all the "80 & 90mph snow" that lighter winds haven't been able to bully. Areas in the strong lee of these winds have seen the formation of cold, stiff windslab while more exposed areas have been scoured to old surface or pummelled into submission. This has led to astonishing spatial variability with exposed raincrust within a few meters of a big chunk of ominous windslab. Arctic temps are not conducive to forming a good bond with your neighbor and we can't expect the interface between old snow and new slabs to be all that strong. As the day progresses we will see the likelihood of natural activity decrease as wind ceases to add more weight and stress on existing instabilities. The potential for human triggered slides will be the major concern and we'll wait for a warm up to help things begin to settle. The next couple of days look to provide more interesting weather so stay tuned. Strange weather breeds strange avalanche activity!

The crust that remains exposed at the surface in different places varies tremendously in hardness. Some locations have gone through so much age hardening that self arrest will be extremely difficult if not impossible in the case of a fall. Expect all surface crust to be very hard until proven otherwise. All visitors traveling on steep terrain should be prepared with crampons and an ice axe.

THE LION HEAD WINTER ROUTE IS OPEN. Mountaineering skills and equipment are required for safe travel on this route. The John Sherburne Ski Trail has improved dramatically with new snow. You should still expect hidden hazards in the form of turf, rocks, bushes and deep waterbars lurking under the new snow cover.

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 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.