Southern San Juan
AvalancheChris Bilbrey · Dec 15, 2023 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Sunny, crisp morning. Moderate northerly wind moving snow onto southerly slopes at upper elevations.
Snowpack
Snowpit on a northeast-facing slope at 10,700 feet: We did not observe ECT results at the new/ old interface (near-surface facets, 0.5-1 mm). We observed progressive collapse failures in CTs at the new/ old interface, and break failures in CTs at the 12/2 interface (facets and rounding facets, 0.5-1 mm). We observed ECTPs with 24 and 25 taps at the 11/25 basal interface (facets and rounding facets, 1-3 mm), and sudden collapse failures with hard force in CTs. The upper-most storm slab fell right-side-up. Last nights clear, cold conditions helped soften the upper layers of the recent storm snow and also kicked surface faceting into high gear. We did not travel much above this elevation band today.
Avalanche
None observed