Huntington Ravine has MODERATE avalanche danger. Natural avalanches are unlikely and human triggered avalanches are possible. Use caution in steeper terrain.

After 80cm (32in) in four days with NW winds the mountains were pregnant with avalanche potential, and they delivered! The Ravines finally cleared late yesterday morning presenting us with multiple fracture lines and very large piles of debris. By far the biggest runner was the Tuckerman Bowl. This ran to its full potential filling in the entire Ravine floor and a bit into the brook bed close to the Connection Cache. The crown line is still partially visible from one side of the Ravine to the other, but has been filled by new loading in many areas. Some other examples of avalanche activity in Tuckerman were seen in Hillman's Highway, the Duchess, and Left Gully. In Huntington avalanches occurred in South, O'Dells, Pinnacle, Yale, and Damnation. These examples are where we saw clear evidence that avalanches occurred during this last storm cycle. With winds peaking close to 195kph (120mph) on the summit early Saturday morning other debris may have been obliterated. Based on N and NW winds during the majority of the event many southern aspects picked up an inordinate amount of new snow. Right Gully and Right-Right Gully are night and day compared to a week ago! This is also somewhat true of Yale and Damnation in Huntington. So bring most caution today to E through S aspects. Within areas posted at Moderate we are most concerned about the upper north side of Hillman's Highway in Tuckerman and locations in Central and Yale gullies in Huntington. Under areas of the Considerable rating the Lip through Right Gully possess more instabilities than locales on the southern side of the Ravines due to their lee nature of N/NW winds.

THERE IS A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 6 AM TOMORROW. Precipitation is expected to begin late this afternoon with increasing and shifting winds from the South. We expect this to begin in the high mountains around 3 to 4 pm. Therefore this event should not affect the recreational period today, but should play into your day tomorrow. We are anticipating around 12cm (5in) of new snow with the possibility of some mixed precipitation and freezing rain. We'll have to wait and see how this plays out, but expect northerly aspects to be most effected.

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 variable conditions from hard windslab to icy surfaces.

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.