Northern San Juan
SnowpackColin Mitchell · Nov 23, 2024 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Broken skies with moderate southwest winds and temperatures around 40 degrees.
Snowpack
Surface conditions were a mixed bag of crusts, facets, and unconsolidated mixed forms; highly variable over short distances, and not necessarily aspect dependent. A profile from a northwest-oriented roller in the meadows on top of the pass, revealed a thoroughly faceted snowpack with two thin fragile crusts. At the ground is a very solid melt-freeze crust composed of refrozen facets and depth hoar. The mid-pack still has enough cohesion to support a skier, but boots go right to the ground. An ECT test predictably produced no results due to the lack of a viable slab.