Southern San Juan
AvalancheKrista Beyer Jeff Davis · Mar 10, 2025 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Temperatures reached a high of 42 degrees around 11,000 feet. This was the second day at elevated temperatures since last week's unsettled weather. Winds were calm out of teh southwest.
Snowpack
Bare slopes, a muddy road, and a brown tint on the surface of many high alpine slopes highlight the lack of snow this year in the La Plata Mountains. This past week's storm settled quickly and a small shed cycle observed for the warming over the weekend. High north slopes hold the most snow, but general snow coverage is spatially variable. Excessive glopping experienced near and below the treeline in shady areas where the most recent snow is slowly warming. Lots of stout crusts on sunny and low elevation slopes. Digging on a north slope near treeline, the snowpack was just around a meter deep and mainly consisted of large grain facets. Snowpack test did not highlight any failures, but the general snow structure leaves things to be desired. It would take a large load to see avalanches break deep, but on north slopes the snowpack is still cold, dry, and winterlike even though the birds are singing and creeks are starting to run.
Avalanche
Small loose wet avalanches were observed on upper elevations of Burwell Peak.