HAMEL SUGGESTED THAT MANY OF THE INTERMEDIATE TAN PHI VALUES WOULD HAVE FALLEN IN THE RANGE OF THE PEAK VALUES IF WATER PRESSURE EFFECTS HAD BEEN CONSIDERED. IT IS TRUE THAT WATER PRESSURE, IF PRESENT AND NOT CONSIDERED, WILL LEAD TO VALUES LESS THAN ACTUAL WHEN CALCULATED BY THE PROCEDURE OUTLINED IN THE PAPER. FURTHERMORE, THE EFFECT OF WATER PRESSURE IS INDETERMINANT UNLESS ONE KNOWS THE MAGNITUDE OF THE WATER PRESSURE AND THE GEOMETRY OF THE SLIDING MASS. TO AVOID THESE COMPLICATIONS, DRY SLOPES SHOULD BE CHOSEN IN APPLYING THE TECHNIQUE. IN ADDITION TO EXCESS WATER PRESSURE, THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER FACTORS THAT CAN BE EXPECTED TO INFLUENCE THE MAGNITUDE OF TAN PHI, VIZ., LITHOLOGY, SURFACE IRREGULARITIES, AMOUNT OF SLIDING, MOISTURE, ORIENTATION OF FRACTURE SURFACES, AND NATURAL VERSUS EXCAVATED SLOPES. THUS, IN RESPONSE TO HAMEL'S SUGGESTION, THE INTERMEDIATE TAN PHI VALUES MIGHT FALL IN THE RANGE OF THE PEAK TAN PHI VALUES IF: (1) EXCESS WATER PRESSURE WERE ACTUALLY PRESENT AND NOT CONSIDERED; AND (2) ALL OF THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED FACTORS WERE THE SAME FOR EACH SLOPE. /AUTHOR/