Southern San Juan

Avalanche

Chris Bilbrey · Dec 7, 2018 · Southern San Juan

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Weather

Steady snowfall (S1 to S2) throughout the day obscuring mountain tops. Temperatures in the 20's with overall light southwest winds.

Snowpack

Approx. 4 inches of new snow. Widespread cracking and collapsing observed throughout our tour. Large, weak facets are sandwiched between recent snowfall since Thanksgiving above and October/ November snow below. This facet layer continues to be the main layer of concern. Stability test did not produce propagating results but enough bulls-eye data existed as evidence to avoid steep, wind-loaded terrain.

Avalanche

Observed an avalanche on NE aspect NTL. We guesstimate a natural that most likely ran overnight on 11/30 or early in the morning on 12/1. Starting zone in a steep (>35 degrees), open concave terrain feature and ran approx. 800 vertical feet through a tight creek gully.