Southern San Juan

Snowpack

A pit was dug in an open area in the trees on a NW aspect. The total depth was about 95 cm with clear near surface facets. The entire snow-pack was faceted with advanced depth hoar as the bottom 15 cm. A few buried dust layers existed at about 25 cm and 35 cm and a fairly decent slab rests between these dust layers, but the primary crystal form was still facets. The snow showed little signs of strength and failed to the ground on a ECTP21 Q2. The fairly high rating is deceptive because areas with a shallower snowpack could easily be trigger points. Overall the snow is weak and layers are poorly bonded.