Northern San Juan
AvalancheColin Mitchell · Mar 17, 2021 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Warm, blustery and partly cloudy. Very spring-like day.
Snowpack
This highway section received quite a bit less snow from our recent storm cycle than the Red Mountain Pass area. Since March 10th, Molas and Coal Bank passes received 14 and 18 inches of snow respectively, compared to the 30.5" recorded at the Red Mountain Pass and Monument stations. The recent snows have consolidated quickly. The top few centimeters of snow was wet at the Coal Bank study plot, with moist rounds down to the crust below our recent snows. Intervals of sunshine yesterday afternoon were enough to form a 1-2 cm thick crust on southerly and sun-exposed slopes. Southerly-facing paths were already melting back with last week's bare spots reappearing.
Avalanche
Very limited loose activity today. The only avalanches I saw were small, loose snow slides on the southeast slopes of Engineer Mountain, and a few tiny sluffs from the roadside cliffs north of Coal Bank Pass.