Northern San Juan
AvalancheJeff Davis · Jan 18, 2024 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Westerly winds at upper elevations. Sunshine. started cold but warmed up quickly.
Snowpack
Westerly winds were strong enough to move snow and drifting observed off Sheep Mountain for most of the day. The snowpack on sunny slopes showed signs of warming in the from of rollerballs, 2 natural avalanches on steep sunny slopes, and obnoxious skin glopping. Cracking and collapsing observed, but not as significant as the last two day. Digging in a flat open area around 11,000' the snowpack was around a meter deep and had almost doubled since this past storm. Snowpack tests highlight the facet layer in the lower parts of the snowpack. Tests results were moderate to hard, but foot pen is to ground which is an indication of how weak the snowpack is.
Avalanche
This area experienced a widespread natural cycle in the past storm. New snow and wind-loading since the storm is covering up some of the evidence, but but talking to folks at Fireweed in Rico who travel the pass and looking for debris piles you can see that the storm tipped the scales like in other parts of the San Juan Mountains. Two new avalanches observed on Yellow Mountain in the afternoon likely triggered by warming.