Southern San Juan
AvalancheChris Bilbrey · Dec 3, 2022 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Cloudy, mild day with increasing south wind along ridgetops. It tried to snow, but only very light flurries for a brief moment.
Snowpack
We found 6 to 8 inches of snowfall from the last two storms on most slopes. Despite single digit snow totals, the snowpack was extra talkative today and speaks to the fragile underlying state of the snowpack. Long-running cracks were the depth of the storm snow sitting above facets ranging from 1 to 2 mm up to 5 mm. None of the cracks or collapses provoked a slide, but were very predictable on below and near treeline slopes around 32 degrees with old snow below. This is clear evidence that the snowpack as a whole is struggling to support the modest new load and something to keep an eye on with more incremental loads this week. We observed failures upon isolation around a faceted crust below and near treeline, and failures with moderate force below the crust in the same snowpits on a northeast-facing slope. As we climbed above treeline, recent snowfall sits above a pencil hard wind layer that is bridging the load over the same weak snowpack structure. However, once stepping out of our skis, we easily broke through that layer to the ground.
Avalanche
None observed