Northern San Juan

Snowpack

Bill Nalli · Jan 12, 2020 · Northern San Juan

Weather

Clear skies in the AM shifted to overcast around noon then snowfall began at 1 pm. Pre-frontal SW wind was blowing snow off of only the highest peaks. Above 13,000 feet the wind was strong most of the day. Two inches of snow fell from 1 to 3 pm from Camp Bird to the north.

Snowpack

Intermittent strong SW wind was moving snow most of the day but we did not see new wind slab development below 13,000 feet. New snow was evenly distributed on all aspects with the exception of being stripped on the most exposed westerly ridges. Lots of settlement occurred since January 9th and we saw minimal evidence of avalanche activity from these last few waves of snowfall. 2 more inches of new snow fell this afternoon before we exited at 3pm bringing the total new settled snow on the ground to 7 to 8 inches from Camp Bird to the north. Noticed recent D1 slides in steep rocky terrain both from yesterday and today. Not much wind affect below treeline. Snowprofile near treeline on a north aspect confirms a deteriorating snowpack both mid-pack and at the ground. Not much of a problem until we get the next big load.