Northern San Juan
SnowpackColin Mitchell · Feb 13, 2019 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Overcast and warm. Snow showers started as I headed north from Coal Bank Pass. Snow was falling at S1 by the time I got to RMP, and the road was beginning to be covered. Some very minor wind-loading was occurring in a few windy spots like the Ledges and the Lime Creek curve.
Snowpack
Steep southerly-facing slopes with direct sun like East Lime Creek, had a melt-freeze crust over unconsolidated melt-forms/facets. Everywhere else I went, the Engineers, Coal Creek, West Lime, and Henry Brown, had 4f hard rounds from the surface down to the old snow/recent snow interface. Henry Brown had a crust at this interface, other areas the interface was difficult to find as the new snow has incorporated into the existing snowpack. Storm snow should bond well to the existing surface with forecast warm temperatures.