Northern San Juan

Avalanche

Chris Bilbrey Jeremy Yanko · Nov 4, 2021 · Northern San Juan

Weather

Mild fall day with plenty of sunshine and light westerly winds along ridgetops. Our thermometer recorded 39 degrees Fahrenheit at 12,000 feet by 1 pm.

Snowpack

Warm temperatures over the last week really changed the state of the snowpack and reduced the number of slopes harboring continuous snow cover above treeline. Bare ground is becoming more widespread on southerly-facing slopes. East and west aspects still harbor shallow snow cover, but another week of warm weather will most likely push east toward more spotty, isolated coverage. Snow depths range from one to two feet on north and northeast-facing slopes above treeline. We found isolated areas in gully's and in cross-loaded terrain features that are close to a meter deep. On those same slopes however, snow depths vary dramatically with deeper areas adjacent to areas with a foot or less of snow. Facets above a crust mid-pack and at the ground are showing signs of gaining strength and were moist in a northeast snowpit. Compression Test in multiple locations yielded hard results breaking in a thin layer of near-surface facets above the October 24 crust. We did not observe any surface cracking in wind-drifted areas. Lots of textured snow surfaces throughout upper elevations. As you move further down in elevation, the snowpack remains shallow and lacks enough snow to produce avalanches. In the near treeline elevation band, snow lingers on all northerly aspects. Below treeline, snow lingers on steep and heavily shaded terrain with lots of ground cover/ natural obstacles poking through the surface.

Avalanche

None observed