Northern San Juan
AvalancheColin Mitchell · Mar 1, 2024 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Bluebird day with temperatures in the mid-30's by noon. Winds were brisk early, but died down late morning and never really materialized as expected at this elevation.
Snowpack
My profile site was at 11,400' on a due west aspect. The HS in the area averaged around 150 cm. Monday's snow was 4f-hard and showing signs of faceting. Below that was 110 cm of 1f to K-hard rounds with two distinct melt-freeze crusts, and 30 cm of rounding depth hoar at the base. The depth hoar was noticeably less consolidated than at other profiles I have recently dug in the Red Mountain Pass area. Test results were unremarkable, ECTN 12 & 13 down 58 cm on an old melt-freeze crust. I briefly traveled on south and south east slopes and found that steep, south-facing slopes were fully isothermal with only 2-12" of snow coverage, and lots of bare spots. Pole probing on southeast aspects revealed that the crust/facet combination responsible for recent avalanche activity is still alive and well, although test slopes were unreactive with repeated hard jumps, and I had no cracking or collapsing or other signs of instability. Nearby above-treeline slopes showed the damage from recent wind events.
Avalanche
No new activity observed today.