Avalanche forecast

Presidential Range

Mount Washington Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Widespread firm and icy snow surfaces will require the use of crampons, ice axes, and mountaineering skills to reduce the risk of a dangerous long sliding fall in steep terrain. Incoming snow showers and wind later in the day increase your chances of finding and triggering a wind slab in soft drifts of new snow.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1

    What and where is it:Watch out for small wind slabs that could form later this afternoon and tonight. The most likely place to find a new wind slab is on steep easterly aspects late in the day where the terrain provides shelter from the wind. 

    How can you recognize it: Pay attention to new snowfall that is accumulating more than a couple of inches, plumes of snow blowing from ridgelines, and deeper drifts of softer new snow. New wind slabs will appear soft, white, and smooth in contrast to the gray, hard, and icy old snow surface.How can you manage it:Understand that new wind slabs may struggle to stick to the icy old snow surface. Approach these areas with caution and understand that even a small avalanche could cause a devastating fall in steep terrain today with a widespread icy snow surface.

Avalanche Discussion

New wind slabs are NOT likely to be the most dangerous hazard today. The consequences of taking a fall in steep terrain have the potential to be physically devastating to a person. Self-arresting a fall in steep terrain today may be impossible, so there is no margin for error when moving in steep ski mountaineering terrain like Tuckerman Ravine. 

Late in the day, if new, wind-drifted snow begins to accumulate on easterly aspects, you may encounter small but sensitive wind slabs resting on top of a hard, icy snow surface. While these aren’t expected to be large enough to bury you, they could cause a dangerous fall. 

Don’t be fooled by springlike conditions in the valley. Mid-winter conditions and mountain hazards persist across the Presidential Range.OBSERVATIONS: Please consider submitting an observation on our website or in the new Avy phone app of what you are seeing in your travels. Submitting an observation hones your skills, informs other users, and improves our forecasts.

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