Northern San Juan
SnowpackChris Dickson · Dec 8, 2025 · Northern San Juan
Weather
A partly cloudy morning gave way to clear skies. Winds out the west gusting to moderate throughout midday. Temperatures above 11,000 feet remained below freezing but lower elevation slopes were moistening and melting under strong sunshine later in the day.
Snowpack
The snowpack here is becoming mostly faceted and weak in the shade and at upper elevations. Sunny slopes at lower elevations feature melt-freeze crusts. Below treeline in the shade, the snowpack consists of just two layers and is approximately 50 centimeters deep, with the bottom layer featuring 2-3mm facets that will surely continue to grow in size as the faceting continues. Near treeline, things get more interesting with some denser wind-packed snow in the midpack resting over weaker faceted layers. However, no alarm layers of concern exist, and again, faceting will weaken these denser slabs and promote bonds between these layers. Above treeline, the recent winds formed a pizza box-thick slab on the surface, which is punchy in places and supportive in others. Mostly, wind slabs here seem small, patchy, limited to just below ridgelines, and trending stubborn.