Northern San Juan
AvalancheColin Mitchell · Nov 23, 2018 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Blustery day with clearing skies and cool temperatures.
Snowpack
Wind was the big story above treeline. Most of last night's snow had already been redistributed onto easterly aspects, or drifted into gullies, depressions, and around terrain features by the time of my tour. Nevertheless, moderate loading of easterly slopes continued. Slabs were 10-30 inches deep and ranged from 4f to P hard. Near and below treeline elevations showed plenty of signs of drifting and loading, but much softer slabs, 4f-F. Shady slopes, where facets dominated the old snow structure, were reactive to the weight of a skier, and cracking and collapsing were observed, but in isolated areas and without a lot of propagation (see photos). Several small D1 loose snow and storm slabs released overnight from very steep terrain in the below treeline elevation band, and were visible from the road.
Avalanche
Several small D1 point releases and soft slabs below treeline on N-E aspects