Southern San Juan
AvalancheChris Bilbrey · Mar 2, 2020 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Clear skies this morning gave way to scattered clouds in the afternoon. Some were ominous looking with periods of S- snowfall and intermittent flurries that didn't amount to any measurable accumulation. Temperatures climbed into the mid 20's by late afternoon.
Snowpack
We found around 3 to 4 inches of new snow with upwards of 7 inches in drifted areas near and above treeline. The new snow was quickly consolidating and settling on slopes that saw direct morning sunshine. Areas along ridge tops and in deeper drifted pockets produced isolated cracking but no slab movement while jumping on small, steep test slopes. The new snow bonded well to an old supportable crust on southerlies and wind-packed surface on north and east aspects in the alpine. No sluffing in steeper, wind-sheltered terrain where a recrystallized snow layer exist below storm snow. We did get a couple loud audible collapses on an east-southeast slope while exiting the timber line in a deeper drifted areas. An adjacent snowpit and Extended Column Test produced propagating failures on two near-surface facet layers below wind-packed crust. Although natural avalanche activity has been limited recently and reports of rider-triggered slides on those layers appear very isolated, these test show that persistent snowpack weakness still lingers and suggest approaching east and southeast-facing slopes over 35 degrees with caution.
Avalanche
No new slides observed today.