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Disoriented in whiteout conditions – Lion Head and Alpine Garden trails

January 18, 2021 in , /by

Saturday, January 16. With a significant snow storm impacting the area creating dangerous conditions above treeline, MWAC received 911 calls for assistance from two separate parties lost in the Alpine Garden on Mount Washington. One group of climbers was able to find the hiking trail and orient themselves and proceed down, while the second call of a single person required assistance back to Hermit Lake.

ESAW wrap-up and Outreach Events

December 17, 2020 in , /by

It’s hard to believe that this year marked the 10th year of our annual Eastern Snow and Avalanche Workshop.  Over the years, the event has been hosted in many locations including in the basement of the Weather Discovery Center and the gym of the John Fuller Elementary School in the early days of the event, to the prestigious ballroom of the Mount Washington Hotel, and more recently at Fryeburg Academy’s Leura Hill Eastman Center for Performing Arts. This year, like all other Snow and Avalanche Workshops across the country, we adopted the virtual format. In addition to hosting some incredibly accomplished avalanche professionals from across the US and Canada, this format proved to vastly increase the accessibility of the event with a record attendance of over 450 participants. 

Help needed at the Harvard Cabin!

December 10, 2020 in , /by

Each year, between December 1 and March 31, the Harvard Mountaineering Club operates a cabin at the base of Huntington Ravine, a popular destination for backcountry skiers, ice climbers, and other winter recreationists.  The Cabin caretaker provides critical support to the Forest Service through daily snow study plot observations, as well as critical help during […]

Avalanche Center Outreach Podcast

December 2, 2020 in /by

Andrew Drummond at the Ski the Whites invited Frank Carus and Pat Scanlon from Carrabassett Valley Academy to talk about the presentations given at the 10th Annual ESAW, decision making, future events from the White Mountain Avalanche Education Foundation and Friends of Tuckerman Ravine. They also discuss what this season may look like in the […]

East Side Closure lifts Monday, June 8

June 6, 2020 in /by

The USDA Forest Service is making every effort to expand access to recreation sites within the context of CDC guidance and state and local government orders for residents, while prioritizing employee and public health and safety. The White Mountain NF (WMNF) is working closely with state and local partners to determine the best path forward […]

Windows to the Wild episode

April 22, 2020 in , , /by

Host Willem Lange and crew spent a day with us at Hermit Lake. Great to have them up and spend the day with our ski patrol and the White Mountain Avalanche Education Foundation Youth Course. Check it out: https://video.nhpbs.org/video/mountain-safety-z7gbi4/

Access Prohibitions on Mount Washington

April 2, 2020 in , /by

The USFS Mount Washington Avalanche Center has issued its final avalanche and mountain safety forecast for the 2019/20 season. At this time, the need to reduce exposure of workers and forest visitors to the novel coronavirus outweighs the value of providing avalanche safety information to backcountry travelers. The decision to stop forecasts was made in […]

End of the season and closures

March 31, 2020 in , /by

Thank you for your support through this season that ended much differently than normal. We had a successful season from a safety standpoint with only a handful of incidents and accidents despite quite a few human triggered avalanches. The community stoke was high though the snowpack and weather did not supply the goods as often […]