Mount Washington Avalanche Center – Snow Safety Information for Mount Washington, Huntington Ravine, and Tuckerman Ravine

Avalanche Forecast for Monday, February 17, 2020

Largely firm and unreactive wind slabs are widespread through northeast to south facing aspects at mid and upper elevations. Some areas of softer snow exist here as well but are small and easily managed or avoided. The icy, unbreakable crust that lies below this past week's snowfall makes crampons useful in wind scoured areas at the tops of gullies. Avalanche danger is LOW today with human triggered and natural avalanches unlikely. Wind packed snow has created generally safe avalanche conditions.

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Latest Observations

Gulf of Slides

By Frank Carus – MWAC
02/16/2020

Weather and Snow Observation

By Stu Johnson – East Coast Avalanche Education
02/16/2020

Snowpack Obs

By Helon Hoffer – MWAC
02/15/2020

Stubborn windslab and graupel, North side – Huntington

By Pat Scanlan – CVA, EMS Climbing School
02/12/2020

Avalanche Awareness in Mt. Washington’s Backcountry

The Exchange, NHPR

MWAC Director Frank Carus joined Laura Knoy on the NH Public Radio show “The Exchange”. They talked about the growth of backcountry skiing, avalanches in New England, avalanche accidents and human factors and answered questions from callers. This program will be broadcast on Monday, Feb. 17, 2020 at 9am and 7pm.

You can listen now at NHPR.

DANGER ZONES: MT. WASHINGTON

By Dougald MacDonald

At just 6,288 feet above sea level, Mt. Washington, the high point of the northeastern United States, packs a very serious mountain into a diminutive package. Home of the so-called “worst weather in the world,” Mt. Washington clocked a wind speed of 231 mph in 1934, and hurricane-force gusts (greater than 74 mph) are observed at the summit more than 100 days a year, on average. The summit observatory has recorded temperatures as low as -50°F (-46°C), and an estimated wind chill of -102°F was recorded in January 2004.

Rising at the intersection of major storm tracks and forming a prominent barrier to winds from the west, Mt. Washington and the Presidential Range also receive heavy precipitation. Each season averages 280 inches of snow, and wind-blown snow can pile up to depths of 10 to 40 feet in the east-facing ravines. Yet warmer temperatures can also be a problem, as freezing rain and fog—prime hypothermia conditions—are frequently encountered.

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