Northern San Juan
AvalancheAndrew Thien · Feb 19, 2023 · Northern San Juan
Weather
strong NW wind, gusting to approx. 30 mph overcast skies occasional flurries
Snowpack
wind slab on exposed N ridge
Avalanche
My partner and I remotely triggered a wind slab avalanche around 11,900 ft on the N ridge of Pt. 12,208 while descending from the summit to the Pencil chute. We saw evidence of many wind slabs on the ridge and were staying in the exposed rocks as best as we could. The crown of the slide was 9 in. At the trigger point, it was approximately 20 ft wide. The debris slid down the N ridge and entrained additional snow (wind slab and storm slab). It slid all the way into the top of the Python chute on the E side of the N ridge, approx. 600 ft. >TL, N aspect, HS, AS/U, R1, D1.5/D2