Northern San Juan

Avalanche

Jeff Davis · Jan 27, 2018 · Northern San Juan

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Weather

Light winds, lots of sunshine, and mild temperatures above treeline. Nice afternoon!

Snowpack

Warm temperatures and ample sunshine continue to affect the snowpack. Some southerly slopes are bare all the way to treeline. The recent pockets of wind-drifted snow are very firm and were not reactive on lower angle slopes. No slab found in the snowpack below treeline on west-facing slopes. On north and east facing slopes near and below treeline, the snowpack continues to facet, but the mid-pack slab is still cohesive enough to trigger avalanches above the Depth hoar and facets. I continue to avoid steep Northerly slopes at all elevations.

Avalanche

Old avalanche observed in Nirvana trees