Southern San Juan
AvalancheChris Bilbrey Becs Hodgetts · Feb 23, 2021 · Southern San Juan
Weather
It was a warm one out there. Spring feels like it's knocking at the doorstep. Temperatures climbed to near 40 F by mid-day with light to moderate west wind. We observed water flowing out of the cliffs at Slip n Slide avalanche path just south of Tirbircio Creek.
Snowpack
The snowpack is feeling the effects of warm temperatures and a stronger sun in the sky. Southerly-facing slopes below treeline are developing small burnouts and the snow surface at all elevations on the same slopes became moist by mid-afternoon. Below the surface, the snow remained dry. Since our last major storm event, the upper snowpack has stiffened making it more difficult for a rider to impact weaker snow below. Although we did not observe failures in ECTs in buried facets/ depth hoar, a poor and worrisome foundation remains. While slabs may be getting more stubborn to trigger, they still have the potential to break wide and result in a large avalanche.
Avalanche
We observed "too many to count" loose wet slides ranging from size 1-1.5. These were widespread on slopes facing east through south to southwest at all elevations. It appears they ran on a melt-freeze crust below snowfall from 2/10-17. With colder temperatures in the forecast, this hazard will most likely be mitigated but may return during our next big warmup.