Huntington Ravine has LOW avalanche danger. All forecast areas in Huntington Ravine have Low avalanche danger. Natural avalanches are very unlikely and human triggered avalanches are unlikely except in isolated pockets. Normal caution is advised.

We are in the middle of a stretch of nice weather that should continue to bring sunny mild days and cool nights. The bad news is that there is no significant snow in the near forecast. Yesterday was a busy day on the mountain and a lot of slopes were tested by us and other climbers. The Lip and Right Gully received foot traffic, as did many other areas of less concern. While there are clear boot lines in both of these areas we are still leaving them at Moderate today. This Moderate rating includes the snowfield directly below the actual "Lip". The weather and recent traffic are good indicators for stability; however, we still have concerns about the potential for human triggered avalanches on these slopes. It may take more force, such as a skier, or it may take a climber wandering off the beaten path to find the "sweet spot" in the slabs to cause an avalanche. These areas are south facing so we can expect the sunny and milder weather to help them trend toward stability. The Bowl and Headwall have just come down from Moderate to Low with an emphasis on "isolated pockets of instability may be found". The snow above the crust on the south side of Tuckerman has been through a lot of change. What was once all dense slab has now metamorphosed into facets and recrystalized snow throughout most of the slabs depth. On the north side look for faceting above the crust and unconsolidated snow acting as weak layers during your stability tests. We also expect more recrystalization in the snow through the week with warm days and cool clear nights. It has been fun to watch all of these changes occur in our snowpack over the past week. The important thing to remember is the concept of spatial variability. This tells us that what is going on in your snow pit or under your feet does not represent an entire slope. When you are in suspect snow, dig as often as possible to get a good idea of what the entire slope is like.

THE LION HEAD WINTER ROUTE IS OPEN. Mountaineering skills and equipment are required on this route. Crampons and an ice axe are a must for safe travel on Mount Washington. The John Sherburne Ski Trail has reasonable coverage given the lean snow year. You should still expect hidden hazards such as water ice and rocks.

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.