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Latest Avalanche Advisory
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Mount Washington and the Presidential Range have many steep exposed ravines and gulfs. During the snowy months, these areas are all prone to snow avalanches. If you plan on traveling in avalanche terrain, you and your party members should carry an avalanche beacon, probe, and shovel, and have the ability to efficiently use this equipment. You will also need to make your own snow stability assessments and practice safe travel techniques. These include exposing only one person at a time to an avalanche prone slope. The information below will help you prepare for your trip into avalanche terrain. In addition to finding information about our avalanche center, you will also find links to avalanche courses, archived advisories, an avalanche glossary, as well as a number of other sources that we think you will find useful. Enjoy! Mount Washington Avalanche Center How we generate our forecasts Usually, we head into Huntington Ravine first. We'll go as far as we safely can, in order to take a look at the gullies. We're typically looking for evidence of avalanche activity, new wind-loaded snow, old wind-scoured snow, and anything else that will help steer us toward making an accurate assessment of the conditions. We also collect snow and weather information from a snow plot that we maintain near the Harvard Cabin. We then take all of this information and post a hand-written forecast for Huntington Ravine at the Harvard Cabin. The next stop is Tuckerman Ravine. Here we look for the same types of things we looked for in Huntington. We also maintain a snow study plot at Hermit Lake where we measure the snow depth, snow density, crystal types, temperature, etc. All of our snow and weather data is observed and recorded in accordance with the Snow Weather and Avalanche Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States (SWAGS). Often, there is a difference between the snow and conditions reported at the Summit and what is found at our snow plots. All of the information we've collected throughout the morning, along with recent field observations and a long history of forecasting in the Ravines, gives us an accurate picture of what the snowpack is doing. After we type and post the avalanche advisories, we'll hike up into the Ravines to get our hands into the snow. There's no better data we can collect than a first-hand observation, unfortunately, the conditions don't allow us to do this every day. The information we find in the afternoon is a significant piece of information for the forecast we'll put out the following day. Schedule of forecasts Another tool that we added for you in 2006-2007 is the "Weekend Update" issued on Friday afternoons. This is supplementary information designed to help people plan for their weekend. It's important to note that the Weekend Update does not replace the posted avalanche advisory; it is a supplement to it containing the most recent information we have. It is important to understand that our advisories are intended to be used as a tool to help you make your own decisions in avalanche terrain. They should be used along with safe travel techniques, snow stability assessments, an understanding of weather's effect on the snowpack, and proficiency in avalanche rescue. Additional Information Archived Avalanche Advisories
Additional Avalanche Resources:
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