Southern San Juan
AvalancheJeff Davis Chris Bilbrey · Feb 10, 2019 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Blue skies, mild temperatures, and sunshine today. Southerly winds brought a brisk chill on exposed ridgeline near and above treeline.
Snowpack
Oh the wind! Firm surface slabs were observed on exposed slopes, while windward slopes have been stripped. Snow drifts could be up to 4 feet deep. A new sun crust now exists on sunny slopes. The crust gets thicker the lower you travel in elevation. Our snowpit near-treeline confirmed that the snowpack continues to gain depth, but snowpack tests show us that small changes in weather during last weeks storm created interfaces within the snowpack that have the ability to propagate. Large grain persistent weak layers exist near the ground, but our main concern is now buried layers of near surface facets in the middle and upper part of the snowpack. With the next storm knocking on the door step, it will be important to watch how those mid-pack weaker layers react to another load. We could see avalanches start in upper layers, but step down if avalanche is large enough.
Avalanche
No new avalanche activity from today observed.