Photos from January 22, 2016
Looking into the mid section of Chute from above the narrows.
AMC Caretaker on her day off. She is a dedicated and adventurous skier to ski this stuff. Though pockets of softer snow could be found, they were heavily wind affected and variable in density.
“Nope, not much soft snow up here either.”
An overview of the lean snowpack. Note the pile of boulders at the exit to Right Gully. Things are certainly filling in but we could use some more gifts from above to smooth things out and fill things in. The smooth snow in the Sluice is firm “wind board”.
Chris in the Sluice after checking for the ingredients for future buried weak layers in Right Gully.
Northern gullies still blown mostly free of snow. These climbs would take your average party longer than when good neve (firm snow) abounds.
The Mount Washington Avalanche Center is a partnership between the White Mountain National Forest, White Mountain Avalanche Education Foundation and Friends of Tuckerman Ravine and other community organizations. The avalanche forecast applies only to backcountry areas, not operating ski areas, and describes general avalanche conditions which vary locally. The avalanche information provided is the sole responsibility of the USDA Forest Service.