Northern San Juan
AvalancheAmy Pertuz · Mar 4, 2021 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Temps today were mild in the 20s near 11,000ft. Intermittent snow showers during the day were at times squally, but did not add up to more than a couple inches. Winds below TL were calm, and very little evidence of transport was seen near TL or on alpine ridgelines in the areas travelled. Occasional moments of blue sky allowed some looks around but did not allow the sun to heat things up.
Snowpack
HN24 ranged from 5" at 10,700' to 9" at 11,400'. The new snow came in warm and bonded well to all surfaces, but remained dry and not cohesive. A pit on a N aspect in the upper BTL zone had HS 150cm,. The bottom meter of this were developed facets, the lowest 40cm of which were large grained (4-5) chained facets which failed in CT with sudden collapse on the 30th tap, but failed to react in an ECT (ECTX). The midpack here was less stout than in some locales, with only 15 cm of 4F hard snow surrounded by otherwise fist hard snow, but it was hard to affect deep layers. It's still not a structure that encourages trust. Snow surfaces remained dry down to 9,800'
Avalanche
We did not observe any avalanches for miles or experience cracking or whumphing today.