Huntington Ravine has LOW avalanche danger. Natural avalanches are very unlikely and human triggered avalanches are unlikely except in isolated pockets. Normal caution is advised.

Well, it's hard to believe we're into the last weekend of February already. The weather for the upcoming week is looking fairly dry, with the seemingly ever-present potential for occasional upslope snow showers being our greatest hope for continued improvement of the snowpack. There are a number of factors at play in today's forecast, however, no one factor dominates the others. First, we can start off with 10-day old hard slabs from the February 14th storm and winds that followed. With the exception of Thursday, it's been cold. This helps them hold onto some of their elastic energy. These slabs are quite stiff and would be difficult for a human to trigger. Since these were deposited, we've had about 7in (17cm) of new snow at the Summit along with some very strong wind speeds to move it around. These winds have scoured Huntington down to a Low rating. In Tuckerman, they've moved snow into many areas, creating loading in places and hammering the snow into stiffer slab in other areas. The areas posted at Moderate are those places where the winds have likely deposited snow into softer slabs larger than what we would consider to be "isolated pockets". These are mostly on the northern side of the Ravine, such as the Lip, Sluice, and Right Gully, but you can also find them in other strong lee areas. In the gullies posted at Low, such as Left Gully and Hillman's, you can expect to find isolated pockets up high in the start zones, more so in Hillman's than Left. These are avoidable with good awareness and travel techniques, but going into them blindly may put you right on top of a bit of unstable slab. Bringing our thoughts back to the old hard slabs, there is a potential, mostly on the northern side of the Ravine, for the force of a smaller avalanche to step down and trigger the harder slabs. This concern is diminishing as the energy dissipates with time, however, it is in the back of our minds for this weekend. Overall, there are good routes to take throughout the Ravine. Keeping your antenna up and using safe travel techniques will help you avoid the troublesome spots. If you have question about your options, don't hesitate to ask us when you get here.

Although there aren't any large storms in the forecast for the next several days at least, tomorrow looks like it will be a good day to be in the mountains. Mild winter temperatures and diminishing winds may fool you into believing Spring is on its way. Of course it is, but we still have a good stretch of winter to enjoy first.

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. The Little Headwall has filled in with snow, however, it is quite a thrash to get into and out of the skiable terrain. The John Sherburne Ski Trail is open and has generally good coverage with some large scoured sections.