Southern San Juan
AvalancheChris Bilbrey Jeff Davis · Dec 2, 2023 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Periods of light snowfall (S-1) and steady west wind moving snow along ridgetops.
Snowpack
The La Plata Mountains benefited from southwest flow during the past two storms, picking up over 20" in the last few days and similar amounts during the Thanksgiving storm. This area also had very little early-season snow prior to Thanksgiving. Even though the new snow fell on a faceted snow surface on shady slopes and a crust on sunny slopes, the lack of slab in the fresh snow and lack of early season snow is likely why we did not see avalanche activity with such a significant load. Trail breaking was bottomless, and cracking and collapsing encountered in willows and flat areas. At this point, the snowpack near and below treeline is under a meter deep but relatively homogeneous, with little change in hand hardness and grain size throughout the snowpack. Lower elevations, below 10,500', still lack coverage, and lots of vegetation and down timber viewed. As the new snow settles during this next period of high pressure, we could see the snowpack become more reactive at the interface between the Thanksgiving storm and the most recent snowfall. We didn't travel in the alpine. All but the southerly slopes now have continuous snow coverage.
Avalanche
None observed