Northern San Juan
AvalancheJeff Davis · Dec 30, 2022 · Northern San Juan
Weather
A mix of sun and clouds. In general, temperatures felt mild, winds light, and though periods of snow little to no accumulation.
Snowpack
Traveling only on north and east facing slopes below treeline. Breaking trail in undisturbed terrain was bottomless. The hight of snow was over a meter. The new snow from the past few days sits on a near surface facets that sits on a snowpack that is generally weak. The new snow is fist hard, sits on stiffer 4 finger layer, and sits on facets near the ground(main layer of concern for large avalanches). Cracking and collapsing was observed.
Avalanche
Signs of mid-storm avalanches is an indicator of how weak the surface was before the new snow fell.