Yesterday's weather put a familiar spin on Mt. Washington's reputation for having the worlds worst weather. Instead of getting buried in snow we watched precipitation change to ice pellets and freezing rain as warm air aloft obliterated hopes for a powder day. The Summit only managed to get 1.9" (4.8 cm) of new frozen precipitation and Hermit Lake received 1.4" (3.5 cm) of mixed precipitation. We are now left with yet another crust in our snowpack that goes all the way up to the Summit. Since the two-hour freezing rain spell on the Summit, they did pick up .4" (1 cm) of snow and upslope snow is in the forecast today. This upslope snow is the critical factor to watch today, as the winds will be ideal for loading into avalanche terrain. Most of the models are showing the potential for only a trace of snow but one short-term model is indicating the potential for accumulating snow. If this occurs, expect increasing avalanche danger, particularly in the Bowl, Lip and Headwall in Tuckerman Ravine. As for right now, you will want to keep an eye out for isolated pockets of instability in all forecast areas.

As the precipitation was changing from snow to ice pellets yesterday we had a period of fairly unstable snow. An unsuspecting climber triggered a slab avalanche as he traversed across the Headwall under the ice. He was carried a ways before self arresting just above a drop off. We talked to the individual after the event and he was grateful for acquiring such an experience without getting hurt. As he put it, "I will consider considerable next time!" (That area was posted at Considerable avalanche danger at the time.) Another climber triggered a slab avalanche below Harvard Bulge in Huntington Ravine. He reported that the crown line was about 3' deep and about 100 to 150' wide. He was also able to self-arrest and walked away from the incident. Around this time we were observing unstable slabs forming in the trees on the Lion Head Trail. We were seeing propagating fractures in slabs composed of small grained needles and ice pellets lying over newly deposited unconsolidated snow. This is a good example of how a change in the weather can affect stability very quickly. The early arrival of warm air aloft changed the precipitation type to a much denser crystal than what had fallen earlier in the day and, in addition to wind loading, created some very touchy conditions.

If you plan on heading up here over the next couple of days be ready for some of the coldest air we have seen all season. Summit temperatures will be falling to around -10 F (-23 C) today and get down as low as -25 F (-32 C) overnight. Tomorrow temperatures will climb back up to -10 F (-23 c) and steady NW winds between 50 and 75 mph (80 and 120 kph) are expected today through tomorrow.

The Lion Head Summer Trail is still open. The Summer Route crosses an avalanche prone slope that has not developed as of yet. The Winter Route is not built for travel without adequate snow cover, so although we are in winter, please help keep the Winter Route in good shape by using the Summer Trail.