Northern San Juan

Snowpack

13 inches of new snow since the the 27th in Alta Lakes Basin. Southwest winds over the past 24 hours built wind slabs near and above treeline on nearly every aspect. Slopes above treeline were either scoured or loaded with slabs up to 3 feet or more deep. Near treeline wind slabs were sporadic as well with deep loading on lee features such as terrain depressions, gullies and lee sides of dense trees. Storm slab below treeline was easily reactive in stability tests around 20cm below the surface. Ski cut tests on steep slopes produced small soft slabs releasing within the storm snow or at the interface between storm snow and old snow. Little propagation within the storm snow. A release within the storm snow may start small but could gain enough mass to release a deeper persistent slab.