Huntington Ravine has Moderate and Low avalanche danger today. Central and O'Dell Gullies have Moderate avalanche danger. Natural avalanches are unlikely and human triggered avalanches are possible. All other forecast areas have Low avalanche danger. Natural avalanches are very unlikely and human triggered avalanches are unlikely except in isolated pockets.

Today's discussion will focus on two points. The first is an overview of what our general coverage is like in both Ravines and the second point will focus on today's weather and how it may affect stability later in the day.

Yesterday I got out and had a close look in both Ravines and found that the past week of warm weather, fog and rain had melted a lot of snow and conditions vary widely throughout both Ravines. One great example is in Tuckerman. Left Gully is well developed with a large start zone and 2/3 of the gully is filled in. Not bad for December 2 thanks to the October snow. On the other side of the Ravine is Right Gully, which has so little snow that we decided to stop posting it until it fills in. Between these two gullies lies a spectrum of broken up snowfields, bare rock, grassy slopes, running water and disjointed snow gullies. In Tuckerman Ravine you can expect more continuous snow on the south side and more broken snow pockets as you move to the north side. Hillman's Highway has a well developed start zone and is therefore worth forecasting, however, it would be an epic bushwhack to get to the snow. In Huntington Ravine the October snows are still paying off. You will find most of the gullies have snow in them and some have great coverage for this time of year, notably Central Gully. There are still some interesting characteristics that are worth noting. One is that the typical start zones high up in Yale, Damnation and even the top of Central don't exist. Other gullies have big pieces missing from them from melt out and large chunks of ice that fell out. As far as ice development goes we are starting over in most areas. There was zero ice on the Headwall and Sluice in Tuckerman yesterday. Huntington didn't look much better with Yale slab being bare and many pieces of "has been" ice climbs lying defeated on the Ravine floor. The coming week will provide us with cold temperatures and the mountain will start rebuilding it's winter form.

With all of that in mind, let's take a look at today's stability concerns. Right now, as I type, all forecast areas are Low. The existing snow would make a better foundation for my house than concrete because all the freewater from the past week is freezing and creating very hard snow. This is also what today's new snow will be trying to bond to. Though the surface is rough, it is very slippery and will make for a good sliding layer. Today's weather forecast is calling for up to 3" (7.6 cm) of snow accompanied by west winds that will be increasing to 40 to 55 mph (65 to 88 kph) this afternoon. The concern for today's stability is new slabs forming from new snow and ideal winds that will load the snow into the Ravines. We expect some areas to move into the Moderate rating later today as well as some isolated pockets to develop in areas posted a Low. These isolated pockets may seem insignificant until you put them into context. The Lip, for example, is an isolated pocket right now due to the lack of snow in that area. However, if a small avalanche were to be triggered there by a person the consequences would be very bad. Take the terrain variables into consideration if you plan on being in avalanche terrain this weekend.

Don't wait any longer to refresh your avalanche skills. Pull out your beacon, practice, and spend a couple bucks on a fresh set of high quality batteries. Review your safe travel rules, techniques for assessing snow stability, and sign up for an avalanche course. We now have all the avalanche courses offered in the Valley this winter on our website, tuckerman.org. Sign yourself or a loved one up now!