Northern San Juan
SnowpackBen Pritchett · Jan 26, 2021 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Broken skies during the morning became overcast by mid-day. Light snow started around 2pm.
Snowpack
Below 10,000' the snowpack is very thin and faceted. It is unlikely you could trigger an avalanche. At the upper end of the Below Treeline elevation zone, the snowpack becomes more layered, albeit highly faceted. Near treeline a Persistent Slab avalanche problem is easy to locate on slopes where the snowpack is around three feet or more deep. Above treeline the contrast becomes previously wind-scoured slopes and ones with a Persistent Slab avalanche problem are stark and visually obvious. Where the snowpack approached 3 feet deep, collapsing was easy to initiate. At 11,800' on 20-25 degree a north-facing slope, I triggered a slope-scale collapse with long-running cracks. The slope had minor drifting. It was below steeper wind-swept terrain. See attached profile for snowpack structure.