Northern San Juan

Quick report

Krista Beyer, Austin DiVesta · Jan 7, 2026 · Northern San Juan

View on map
Observation photo 1Observation photo 2Observation photo 3Observation photo 4Observation photo 5Observation photo 6

Weather

Overcast, high clouds with the sun trying to burn through. Temperatures in the 20s. You can feel the moisture from the low trough from Baja headed into the region.

Snowpack

Deep areas of wind-loaded snow exist, but they are generally isolated to specific terrain features and do not extend far below ridgelines. Thin, but firm pencil-hard slabs generally have a varied distribution in the alpine. We were still able to find a supportable crust beneath recent snow on many alpine slopes, but the crust varies in thickness. Faceted grains are readily available around these buried crusts. On the planar slopes we travelled, slabs deteriorated quickly beneath ridgelines.