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

Before we get to stability issues, lets talk about the weather. Regardless of where you travel on Mt. Washington today, you'll be exposed to dangerously frigid temperatures. The current temperature on the summit is -24 F (-31 C) and the wind is blowing 80 mph (128 kph) and recently gusted over 100 mph (161 kph). Temperatures will continue to fall to around -30 F (-34 C) this morning and winds are expected remain out of the west between 70 and 90 mph (112 and 145 kph) with higher gusts. Due to these conditions, a wind chill warning has been issued and you can expect any of your precious skin to freeze in 5 minutes of exposure if it is not properly bundled. The margin of safety in the event of a mishap is quite slim in these conditions. Now we can talk stability for your trip planning purposes because you clearly aren't coming up today, right?

Over the past 24 hours the summit has picked up .5" of new snow and snow showers will continue throughout the day bringing light accumulations. Blowing snow has been reported on the summit for the past 30 hours and I think that the steadily increasing and sustained winds are finding some more snow to transport. This causes the most concern in the Bowl, Lip and Headwall areas of Tuckerman Ravine. These areas are in the direct lee of west winds and are very sheltered which gives them a better chance at continued slab development. These areas were posted at Considerable yesterday as well due to new slab development since the avalanche cycle on Saturday. The Lip and Sluice are good examples of where west winds have developed slabs in leeward aspects. Areas posted at Moderate in Tuckerman also have slabs in them that should be considered on the upper end of the Moderate rating. As the day progresses and winds continue to increase we could see some places become scoured or have their snow pounded into hard slabs with a lot of tensile strength. This is particularly true in Huntington Ravine. Yesterday afternoon we observed a variety of surface conditions in Huntington that included old surface and recently deposited slabs. These were found primarily on the southern part of the Ravine. I think that these slabs may have a hard time holding their ground today as the winds continue to funnel through the gullies.

It seems that we can only grasp at hopes of snow showers this week as there are no major storms in sight. Be sure to check the latest advisory before you head out. Cold temperatures, wind and snow showers could cause the stability to bounce back and forth through the week.

THE LION HEAD WINTER ROUTE IS OPEN. This is a steep and challenging route. Crampons, an ice axe, and the ability to properly use this equipment are necessary for safe travel on this route.