Southern San Juan

Avalanche

Chris Bilbrey · Feb 4, 2020 · Southern San Juan

Weather

The La Plata Mountains seemed to have been on the outside looking in during our recent snowfall party. Hardly any new snow found below approx. 10,200 feet and only 1-2 inches above that on slopes facing north to east. Seems to have been more wind than precipitation and almost all wind-ward facing slopes were scoured to old snow surface or the ground in isolated places. A little dust accompanied this last storm system with a faint red glow below the surface.

Snowpack

There is more evidence of recent wind damage, scouring, and stripping than recent accumulating snowfall in the La Plata Mountains. New snow on the ground was mostly confined on north to east aspects. Effects of strong south to southwest winds found at all elevations. However, due north-facing, wind-sheltered terrain was spared the most and we found softer, non-slabby snow once we descended below ridge tops (around 100-200 feet) near treeline. Southerly and west-facing terrain formed a stout melt-freeze crust during the pre-storm warmup. The snowpack below treeline on northeast to southeast-facing slopes continues to weaken and facet from top to bottom, especially at elevations closer to 10,000 feet. This is not a problem at present time without a slab above, but a prolonged stormy period could change things at lower elevations. The closer you get to 11,000 feet, the snowpack has remained stronger and more cohesive in the majority of places.

Avalanche

None observed today.