Northern San Juan
AvalancheChris Dickson · Jan 19, 2023 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Blue skis with cold temps this morning (1* F at my house this morning). Calm morning with light winds and no visible transport occurring along the ridgetops.
Snowpack
More snow and wind throughout yesterday afternoon and evening. Lots of drifting evident in the Ophir Valley and along ridgetops.
Avalanche
Widespread natural avalanche cycle in Ophir. New naturals were observed this morning, and then HeliTrax bombs triggered numerous D3+ avalanches that went to the valley floor. Slide #1 Colorado Face (Yellow Mtn shoulder): N-R3-D3 Northeast aspect, ATL. Slide #2 West St. Louis N-R4-D3.5: this slid yesterday but we got a good view of the crown(s) this morning. Looks like a storm slab that stepped down, with deeper crowns lower in the slidepath. Slide #3 Spring Gulch: couldn't find the crown for this one, but a D3+ slide released naturally in Spring Gulch, pulling two SW-facing sympathetic pockets along with it, and the debris ran to the apron of the Gulch. This likely ran sometime in the afternoon/evening of 1/18. Looks like debris stopped just short of the Tri-State power lines. Slide #4 Sunset Bowl: N-R3-D2.5. Start zone ranged from NW to W to SW. Crown connected via rock bands. Slides #5: 6 new crowns from Helitrax mitigation efforts. All on S, SW, or SE aspects ATL.