Northern San Juan

Snowpack

Mark Gober · Jan 29, 2018 · Northern San Juan

Weather

Calm and warm day.

Snowpack

Alpine southerly terrain had pockets of recent slab development from the north winds this past weekend. We did not see any cracking or collapsing in this terrain. The slabs were generally thin and pockety. The surface snow was moist from today's sun. On the northerly terrain below treeline the weak structure still exists and the snow from the two storms we saw in Jan were beginning to facet. Where we dug a pit, there was no firm crust or melt freeze layer on top of the depth hoar as has been noted in other locations. This might be due to a more northerly aspect. Overall the snowpack showed little strength but we saw no cracking or collapsing where we were. There was an old avalanche nearby so most likely the slope had already collapsed. The recent winds affected the snow quality even well below treeline.