Northern San Juan
AvalancheAmy Pertuz · Mar 10, 2021 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Temps were cool in the 20s today, with steady SSW winds all day. New snow totals ranged from 4-8” from the upper BTL to the NTL elevation bands. Moderate blowing snow amounts. Skies remained mostly cloudy for most of the day, with decreasing cloud cover in the afternoon. There was not enough sun to affect the snow surface today.
Snowpack
Overnight storm totals made for a nice refresh without significantly changing the hazard. The storm came in warm, and new snow was creamy, well bonded on N and E aspects, with a hint of pink dust. Steady moderate winds with strong gusts out of the S and SSW meant moderate blowing snow was creating windslabs at upper elevations. Smooth surfaces and fresh cornices on NE ridgelines were seen by the time skies cleared in the afternoon, but very few natural avalanches were spotted. The storm snow had a denser, more wind affected middle layer, sandwiched by softer snow. A pit on an ENE aspect near tree line showed a small facet layer below last week’s storm snow that is becoming more reactive, but is only 38cm deep right now. Recent warm temps and a strong mid pack have made deeper facet layers unreactive to skier pressure or in tests. We skied a NE aspect from near tree line with soft, not slabby surface conditions.
Avalanche
Two very small wind-triggered soft slab avalanches were seen on the crossloaded NW gully of Red 3 (Hollywood). These both released below heavily wind drifted features and both remained very small and isolated to the surface snow. Both at SS-N-R1-D1.