Mountain Biking - GT Avalanche

Hello all, I am new to this posting bit and relatively new to the biking world in general. I am hoping someone can help me with an identification of a bike I purchased a little over a year ago. It is a GT Avalanche and it is a 90's models that was made in America. Is there some definitive marking I can look for to make an identification as to what model it is (if there were different models of avalanche's back then) and if so can anyone provide me with an ID or more information about the bike. I use it for road riding to build endurance (it is built like a tank and pretty heavy) and I really like it and would like to know more about it. Thanks.

It is an "entry level" Triple Triangle frame. GT has made numerous bikes ,Avalanche, Backwoods...etc with this frame. I will be VERY general here and say that it is a perfectly good frame for basic mountain biking.
There were and are still different levels of the Avalanche, (last time I looked, not recently). This bike was most likely in the neighborhood of $300 to $600. This is not to be taken as gospel as I have not looked at GT much. I recieved an early 90s GT bike (backwoods) a while back and briefly investigated what I had. The Triple Triangle frame has a few fans over at MB review.com, or whatever that site is.

The serial number that is stamped on the bottom brackett shell should give you a bit of a clue. Usually the first or the first two numbers are the year. i.e. 96-887403-74 Would be a '96.

It's been some time since I've have to remember what all the numbers meant. I'm sure someone will chime in.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. The Avalanche was a mid-level bik in GT's line-up, closer to the $1,200 to $1,500 range in the early 90's, then over the years kept dropping.

Their top of the line frame was the Zaskar, still is I think.

Thanks for the information everybody.

Hey msuv.. I'm trying to identify my avalanche too. Is the.. I don't know what u call it.. the big frame bar on top.. is it bent? Or does it go straight? Mine is bent.. And does yous say it's built in California, USA?

My serial number doesn't start with numbers, starts with a B.

You know, when I actually looked for the number today (haven't had time recently, finals are next week) i could'nt find it on the bottom bracket or anywhere else. I looked everywhere but for the life of me could'nt locate anything. Any other suggestions on where to look? I'm one of those people who can't find anything unless its in front of me.