Northern San Juan
AvalancheKrista Beyer Jeff Davis · Dec 15, 2023 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Today was a clear bluebird day with north winds 15-25 mph.
Snowpack
About 12 inches of new snow fell from the recent storm with up to 2 inches of settlement in the past 24 hours. Near-surface faceting oberved on many surfaces esppically on shady slopes driven by last nights cold and clear weather. Dug on a southeast slope above treeline. New snow sits above a 4 cm crust. .5-1 mm facets directly below the crust sit atop a wind-packed slab and larger 1-3 mm facets at the ground. Compression tests produced easy failures mid-way through the new snow and hard failures below the crust. ECT tests produced hard failures at the ground.
Avalanche
Avalanches observed likely occurred mid-storm. Most avalanches occurred on northerly aspects above or near treeline.