Huntington Ravine is still under a General Avalanche Advisory. A General Advisory is issued when instabilities are isolated within the entire forecast area. However it's important to realize that avalanche activity may occur within these locations before the issuance of a 5-scale forecast. This is a critical fact to remember. Under a General Advisory you need to make your own avalanche stability assessments before venturing into any open slopes.

Rain is dominating our minds today as record breaking temperatures and periods of warm liquid fall from the sky. The summit has already smashed the high temperature record for the day which has stood for the past 60 years. At 41 F we are already 4 degrees beyond the 37 degree mark set back in 1946. Yesterday didn't bring the forecasted rain amounts, but did bring in temperatures that exceeded expectations. During the morning hours between 9 and 10am we hit 58 degrees at the base of the Auto Road! Rapid temperature increases and last night's rain into this morning means stress for the snowpack. Repeating the Friday advisory's rain discussion is valuable for understanding today's hazard. Rain on snow creates 1. Additional load therefore stress 2. Melts existing bonds in the snowpack diminishing both tensile and shear strength as it moves through layers. 3. Creates additional freewater as it melts the frozen structure. And 4. Lubricates layers that offer some impermeability to the moving liquid reducing the shear strength rapidly. As of 7am we have already picked up 0.38" (.96cm) of water at Hermit Lake. It is important to also remember that rain does not discriminate to aspect or slope angle so I would be suspect of most slopes in Tuckerman today. Currently water is visibly running down over the Headwall which raises the concern for blowouts to occur in the snowpack due to increasing hydraulic pressure. In Huntington Ravine, where we are still under a general advisory, an overall lack of snow only allows for isolated issues. There just is not much snow in the gullies, but rain on snow should raise your concern about being in several isolated locations. Some examples exist in the top of Yale, Damnation, and above and below the ice in Central. A general advisory does not mean you don't have to think about avalanches. After today's eroding rain and warmth Huntington will be fairly barren before the re-freeze tonight. The mercury will plunge tonight in the higher elevations which will lock up the snowpack and begin forming ice in the Ravines. Ice climbers should expect ideal conditions for dangerous ice dams to develop for tomorrow. This occurs when quickly forming ice traps water behind it increasing pressure that can be released in an explosive fashion with a swing of the tool or crampon. General travel will be very challenging due to slick conditions underfoot by Sunday morning. Crampons and ski poles may be very helpful in most areas. As temperatures drop during the overnight we may get a brief shot of snow, but it may be just enough to hide ice on the trail. Winter will slowly come back with colder conditions in alpine locations on Sunday before a couple of snow opportunities arise in the first half of the work week.

Warm temperatures and rain will increase the DANGER OF FALLING ICE today in both Ravines. Weakening will be more and more of an issue the longer we remain above freezing.

By now you should have refreshed your avalanche skills, installed some fresh high quality alkaline batteries in your avalanche beacon, and mastered its use. Don't forget your safe travel rules, techniques for assessing snow stability, and sign up for an avalanche course. Avalanche courses offered in the valley this winter are now on our website, tuckerman.org.