Northern San Juan

Avalanche

Grady James · Dec 16, 2018 · Northern San Juan

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Weather

Red Mountain Pass: ENE Slope (BTL). Sunny, clear and calm. Sun was cooking in the valley floor, saturating surface and causing snow to stick to bases as we skied back to creek crossing.

Snowpack

Snow on ENE aspect BTL was recycled pow. Depth of total snow was 65cm. Ski pen averaged 20cm, boot pen to ground. Widespread collapsing and cracking observed. As the angle tipped towards 30 degrees, crack propagation was 30m, with 1-2" gaps opening up on some fractures. The persistent slab problem was rearing its head, but the slope was just low enough angle and short enough that an avalanche was not possible. ECTP6 and ECTP9 on Thanksgiving layer, down 45cm.

Avalanche

Natural Soft Slab on the North face of Mill creek. SZ was not visible. Debris looked to be 10x20m and 2-3m deep. R1.5, D2.