Northern San Juan
AvalancheJeremy Yanko · Nov 23, 2022 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Mild morning with stiffening winds and increased cloud cover by early afternoon.
Snowpack
Cruised around on Easterly facing terrain from 10,400-12,200ft. Where snow covered, ski travel was most supportive on faceting wind/temp crusts. Shaded terrain held full depth facets that offered minimal purchase and supportability to skis. Various concavities in this benched terrain held 35-50cm, with a few previously wind-loaded pillows adjacent to ridgeline stacked up to 100cm. Plenty of bare ground and generally thin discontinuous snow cover made up the rest of the surfaces in this area. A diffused dust layer 10cm down from the surface (11/9 layer) was evident throughout the whole trip. The main interface of concern in a 50cm profile is a 5cm thick pencil hard failure plane down 15cm with well developed facets above and below. However the snowpack here is thin, weak and problematic as a whole moving forward.
Avalanche
None observed nor any signs of instability