Northern San Juan
SnowpackJeff Davis · Dec 10, 2023 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Strong northwest winds above treeline. Mix of sun and clouds. Felt cold with the windchill but mild temperatures in the 20s.
Snowpack
Over the weekend, strong west and northwest winds stripped windward slopes and loaded leeward slopes. The surface stiffened into a ~5cm surface slab as the new snow from Friday compressed from the wind. On lee southerly slopes in the alpine, the new snow drifted into piles 10-20 cm deep but was not reactive to ski pressure. Probing near treeline, the snowpack is 20-70cm, with the deepest snow on the north and east and the less snow on the west and south. The crust on southerly slopes below ~12,000' collapsed as I traveled uphill. Digging on a northeast slope at ~11,400, the early December storm has stiffened and faceted but also become more uniform with the Thanksgiving Day storm. Facets and depth hoar near the ground remained the layer of concern, highlighted in long-column snowpack tests. Probing above treeline, most areas were less than a meter deep, and there was still plenty of grass and exposed ridgelines. The acception to this would be areas loaded and cross-loaded throughout the season. On an east-facing slope of around ~12,500, I found over a meter of wind-packed snow. The bulk of the snowpack was 1-finger in hand hardness with a small layer of facets and dept-hoar near the ground. The faceting process is happening slowly in deeper areas and in the alpine, where daytime temperatures stay cooler. The challenge with looking at this one piece of snow is that just 20 feet to the right and left, the snowpack was only 70 cm. This is an excellent example of triggering avalanches from the margins of the slab. Deep in the middle and strong, thin on the edges.... like when you pull laughy taffy into chucks to share with touring friends. The Red Mountain Pass area is one of the deepest snowpacks in the Southern Mountain forecast area. The snowpack has become much less "chatty" since one week ago but remains shallow in most areas.