Southern San Juan
AvalancheMatt Huber · Feb 2, 2022 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Heavy snow for the entire trip, at least an inch an hour. Near treeline, southwest winds were strong enough to drift the low density snow.
Snowpack
Close to two feet of very low density snow had fallen by the end of the trip. The new snow bonded very poorly to the old surfaces on all aspects that I sampled with Extended Column Tests failing on isolation on all aspects near and below treeline. The storm snow was just stiff enough to support propagation but once in motion behaved as a fast moving sluff. Near treeline winds were developing stiff, reactive slabs on north through northeast aspects.
Avalanche
Multiple crowns could be seen in the northeast-facing slopes of Gibbs Creek and the area known as Suicide Bowl. These all likely ran naturally, mid-morning on February 2.