Northern San Juan
SnowpackMark Gober Ann Mellick · Dec 1, 2015 · Northern San Juan
Weather
cool, breezy, clear, though warmer than yesterday
Snowpack
With little new snow and the main loading element having been recent strong winds, the snowpack remains much the same: weak and getting weaker on shady slopes below treeline, variable with many melt/freeze layers on sunnier slopes below treeline and wind scoured or loaded on terrain near and above treeline. Recent very cold temps and strong winds have kept us from traveling much above treeline, but we suspect there are some ripe wind slabs up high that may be reactive to the weight of a bc traveler, particularly on north through easterly terrain. Also, notable is how weak the snowpack is on shady slopes below tl in the Cement Creek drainage. The snowpack is thinner with more developed (larger sized) faceted grains than in the Hwy 550 corridor. While not a problem now, it will be in the future.