Southern San Juan
AvalancheMatt Entz · Jan 9, 2019 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Sunny, calm, and around 15 degrees f.
Snowpack
Hollow is the word that comes to mind. Slab starting to thicken from last 2 storms, but everything underneath has no cohesion. Areas of higher elevation with a deeper snowpack continue to whoomph and collapse with the weight of snowmobiles, but there appears to be less avalanche activity compared to lower elevations with less total snow. Surface hoar continues to grow on north-east aspects with observed sizes up to 1.5 cm today.
Avalanche
This small avalanche was remotely triggered by a snowmobile riding on the trail. East aspect below tree line (9900 ft) roughly 4 miles up trail 390 from the Tucker Ponds parking lot. What’s interesting about this one is that one large group rode by the slope on the trail twice on Monday, our group of 8 machines rode by the slope on the trail twice on Tuesday, and as the second machine went by this morning the slope broke. Start zone estimated at 38-40 degrees. Shows just how unpredictable the snowpack in the area is.