Northern San Juan
SnowpackSusan Hale · Jan 1, 2013 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Bitter cold! Still overcast and snowing S-1 - a very fine snow freezing on the face. light northerly breeze. Only a little snow moving at ridge crests.
Snowpack
In a nutshell - shallow and faceted and lacking a slab. We were on SE-ESE aspects below and near TL. Deepest snow was 24" but averaged 18" to 20". (Had to ski depressions where there was more depth.) There was less snow near treeline - on the ridge where winds have eroded it away.) Snowpack on lower angle terrain was roughly 2 layers: 1/2 DH/facets on bottom and 1/2 decomposing, becoming faceted snow on top (all F to 4F hardness). Steeper terrain was more shallow. It consisted of three layers: Top half: was F hardness new snow. Middle: was 1cm friable MF crust - due to solar aspect this time of year; Bottom half: F hardness large DH/facets.