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.

Bitter winds and cold temperatures serve as a blunt reminder to me that winter is not over. Over the past 24 hours temperatures on the Summit have been below zero F and WNW winds have been howling in 80 and 90 mph range with a peak gust at 113 mph (181 kph). The Summit picked up 2.8" (7.1 cm) of new snow with a density of 6.5%. The light density snow is proving to be vulnerable to the strong winds in many locations. All areas posted at Low have little to no new snow in them because the wind bullied it out of these areas. The one exception to this is a pocket in the upper climber's right of Hillman's Highway. If you choose to climb up there today be aware of this and use your route finding skills to avoid it. The areas posted at Moderate are sheltered enough to allow the new snow to deposit creating new cold wind slabs that are sitting over an icy bed surface. The southern part of Tuckerman only has pockets of slab but when you get to the northern part you will find large areas of consistent slab that are the main stability concern today. As mentioned, these are sitting on an icy bed surface. This was formed over the weekend when the Nor'easter gave Hermit Lake about 10" (25 cm) of snow before changing over to sleet, freezing rain and rain in the Ravines. The result is a crusty layer that varies in thickness and resilience depending on your elevation. In the lower part of the Ravines it is a nasty breakable crust with recrystalized snow underneath. As you get higher the crust seems to be more supportive and eventually morphs into a consistent hard snowpack. I was wondering if the high winds would rip up the crust above treeline and transport the snow underneath. While this may have occurred on a small scale in some locations, it looks like this was limited based on the amount of snow being transported. If your motivation is skiing today, this advisory translates into bad news. You will either be on the breakable crust, icy crust, or on new slabs that may prove sensitive to you resulting in an avalanche.

a secondary stability concern is on the way later today. We will see clouds increase and snow develop this afternoon. This system is expected to give us another 1-3" (2.5 to 7.6 cm) by the time it wraps up tomorrow. Winds will be out of the NW and, after subsiding a bit this afternoon, increase to 75 to 95 mph tomorrow (120 to 153 kph). While snowfall totals are not looking impressive, the winds will be ideal for loading new snow into a number of areas.

The Harvard Cabin has been temporarily closed due to operational issues. Camping will be permitted at the Cabin's tent sites until the facility completely closes on April 1. We will update any changes to this in the advisory.

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 John Sherburne Ski Trail is open with a fresh covering of crusty snow to hide the bare spots and rocks that melted out last week. Keep those tips out from under the junk!