Huntington Ravine has CONSIDERABLE, MODERATE and LOW avalanche danger. O'Dell and Central Gullies have Considerable avalanche danger. Natural avalanches are possible and human triggered avalanches are probable. Be increasingly cautious in steeper terrain. South, Pinnacle, Yale, Damnation and North Gullies have Moderate avalanche danger. Natural avalanches are unlikely and human triggered avalanches are possible. Use caution in steeper terrain. The Escape Hatch has Low avalanche danger. Natural avalanches are very unlikely and human triggered avalanches are unlikely except in isolated pockets. Normal caution is advised.

Today's instabilities are a result of yesterday morning's loading event that deposited new slabs into both Ravines. Field observations found that the new slabs had a lot of snap in them and we were observing shooting cracks on a variety of aspects. We were getting quality one shears that were failing on loose unconsolidated snow. This was a constant in the areas that we were comfortable observing. There were variations with slab depth, as well as where they were failing in relation to the rain crust. We are primarily concerned about human triggered avalanches today. Not a lot of people got out and tested the snow yesterday but a climber did trigger a small pocket in Left Gully. The person chose to decend leaving the larger areas of Left Gully untouched. We are most concerned about the areas posted at Considerable today as they have the largest and/or most suspect slabs waiting to have their delicate balance tipped by a skier or climber. In Tuckerman, this accounts for the area around the Lip over to Right Gully including the Sluice. Locations posted at Moderate represent a range within the Moderate rating. Some areas posted at Moderate may provide the savvy traveler a reasonable option for traveling through that terrain. This is due to variable distribution of the new wind slabs. In other areas posted at Moderate you will be forced to travel over the new slabs. Most of our existing slabs are touchy and represent the upper end of that rating. Remember that human triggers may exist outside your party. With poor visibility you need to be thinking about who is above you and what will happen to you if people above you trigger an avalanche.

Light snow is expected through the day today with SW winds 25 to 40 mph (40 to 65 kph) that will be shifting to the NW late in the day. We expect around 1" (2.5cm) of accumulation which doesn't threaten to change stability ratings given the light wind speeds. With that said, you will need to pay attention to changes in the weather forecast. An increase in winds or snow totals could bump areas that just came down from Considerable back up to Considerable. Another weak system is expected to give us some more snow tomorrow with a noticeable increase in wind speed later tomorrow afternoon. Check tomorrow's advisory before you head into avalanche terrain as the weather may cause instabilities to increase.

THE LION HEAD WINTER ROUTE IS OPEN. Mountaineering skills and equipment are required for safe travel on this route.

The Sherburne Ski Trail is open and it's very thin in places. Expect new snow over a hard and unforgiving icy base.

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.