Southern San Juan

Avalanche

Chris Bilbrey · Apr 14, 2021 · Southern San Juan

Weather

Mild day with a few cumulus clouds and moderate southwest winds. Around 2 pm, we noticed a brown haze in the sky that we guesstimate was another round of dust blowing in from the desert.

Snowpack

We found a light dusting of snow between 10,000 and 11,000 feet and an inch or two as we approached treeline. Below treeline slopes facing east through south to west had refrozen "egg shell" surfaces this morning following last night's weak freeze. By the afternoon, trap door conditions developed and we regularly sunk 12 to 16 inches deep into wet unconsolidated snow. Northerly-facing slopes below treeline continue to be more supportive to both ski and boot penetration. Areas with a clear view of the sky had a thicker frozen surface than heavily treed slopes. Steady southwest winds kept snow surfaces from softening near and above treeline. Winds were drifting the recent snow into shallow, 1F soft slabs in isolated areas in the alpine - below ridges, in cross-loaded terrain features, and on back sides of rollovers. However, these were not broad in surface extent and were un-reactive to ski pressure. Outside of fresh drifts, snow surfaces near and above treeline were a mix-bag of firm, frozen surfaces or in some cases, wind-broken particles on the surface from our prolonged windy conditions. Wet snow issues were not a concern today at any elevation band.

Avalanche

No new avalanche activity. Old wet snow avalanches from around April 4 or 5.