Southern San Juan
AvalancheJay Godson · Mar 3, 2017 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Bluebird, temps were pleasant, and winds were non existent except on ridgetop where they were light/variable.
Snowpack
12"-18" of new snow from Tuesday's storm. Ski Pen was 6-8" and foot pen was 12-16" Northerly aspects remained cold and very soft, southerly aspects had a crust and by the afternoon were mashed potatoes below treee line. No collapsing/cracking/whumping. Large cornices are built on the cliff line near Engineer Meadows. The depth of the snow at the pit profile was 290cms. I only examined the top 135 cm of the snow pack. The biggest concern was the new/old snow interface and CT scores were in the teens and repeatedly at new/old snow interface. An extended column test did not have any results but I am suspect. The old snow is a cohesive slab that requires effort to dig through. I would avoid terrain that has consequences for a few more days.
Avalanche
From the Coal Bank Pass parking lot 2 were visible both were R2, D1.5. 50' widex1.5' deep x 500' and appeared to be natural. Both came close to the road but parked themselves in the terrain trap. The newest slide was probably Thursday and the older one probably ran during Tuesday's storm.