Huntington Ravine has Low, Moderate and Considerable avalanche danger today. Central Gully has Considerable avalanche danger. Natural avalanches are possible and human triggered avalanches are probable. Unstable slabs are probable in steep terrain. Be increasingly cautious in steeper terrain. South, O'Dell's, Pinnacle, and Yale gullies have Moderate avalanche danger. Natural avalanches are unlikely and human triggered avalanches are possible. Unstable slabs are possible in steep terrain. Use caution in steeper terrain. Damnation and North currently have Low avalanche danger. Natural avalanches are very unlikely and human triggered avalanches are unlikely except in isolated pockets. Normal caution is advised.

COLD, FRIGID, ABSOLUTE KELVIN, and FROSTBITE are all good words to describe the day as temperatures keep falling. As of 7am the summit is at -30.2F with winds gusting to 80mph. Here at Hermit Lake it's -20F and gusty. Yup that's cold. This will be the main concern in the mountains today as no matter where you are so is the cold air. You can't avoid it like you can avalanche issues so be prepared if you plan on being outside today. Having the right clothing is extremely important. Hands, feet, and face are usually the first to feel the punishment of second-rate gear. Leave the gloves at home and bring the mittens. Super gaiters on quality double boots and full face protection and goggles are essential to come back in one piece. But honestly with all that said I would choose another day to be out. Spend some time sharpening ski edges, tools, crampons, and sewing up those gaiters you've been putting off. Then get in the hot tub and dream of future trips.

This morning we are seeing the highest winds since the weekend. This is picking up some of the last snow available above treeline for transport into easterly aspects adding a bit more load and instability to our snowpack. In Huntington high winds will do some loading and some scouring depending on location. Generally speaking cold temperatures has kept slab consolidation to a minimum so expect slab deposition from Wednesday night to retain their elastic energy and propensity for propagation. The northern or right side of Tuckerman still possesses the most instability. The greater Lip area over to the Sluice will remain at Considerable avalanche danger today. We are most concerned about the human trigger potential being "probable" compared to the natural activity definition of the rating. As you move across the Ravine towards Left Gully the danger drops to Moderate which still means human triggered avalanches are possible. In Huntington the main unstable slabs of concern are in Central gully followed by O'Dells and then Pinnacle. The lingering slab instabilities are a concern as we move into the weekend. Weekend traffic usually means more triggers to find that sweet spot causing a slope to fracture and fail. Keep these following questions in mind. Who is above me? Who might use my ascent route for a decent? Who is below me? The more visitors we have the higher the potential for an avalanche incident when slab instabilities exist.

The Lion Head Summer Trail is still open. The Summer Trail crosses an avalanche prone slope that is still fully developing. As is smart in avalanche terrain across this and all other such slopes one at a time. The Winter Route is not built for travel without adequate snow cover.