Northern San Juan
AvalancheAnn Mellick Chris Bilbrey · Apr 22, 2020 · Northern San Juan
Weather
A spring mix of clouds and sun, with a few periods of convective snowfall (no accumulation).
Snowpack
2"-3" of new snow fell yesterday. Northerly winds overnight left localized drifts 6" to 8" deep in lee areas. Drifts were sensitive to skier pressure, but generally small and did not pose a real hazard. Of greater concern is the overall warming snowpack. The snowpack continues to transition from winter to spring mode at different rates depending on aspect and elevation. We found wet snow under a 2" surface crust on a north aspect at 10,200'. We found similarly weak/wet snow under surface crusts on southerly aspects at all elevations. The surface crust was thickest above treeline (~6"+) and increasingly thinner as we descended. Wet snow slides will become increasingly problematic as temperatures continue to rise over the next week.
Avalanche
Wet roller balls from steep rocky terrain on all aspects and elevations, but no new slides.