Southern San Juan
SnowpackAnonymous · Nov 29, 2021 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Sunny and mild day with an occasional light breeze on ridge tops.
Snowpack
Found a slightly deeper and more complex snowpack compared to that found in most of the La Plata Mountains. Snow surfaces were either crusted or faceted below and near treeline and snow depths increased dramatically with elevation and on northerly aspects. In the alpine snow surfaces were a mix of shallow wind buff and firm wind crust, with areas holding a slab exceeding areas with shallower depths and unconsolidated surfaces, the opposite of what we found on very similar slopes in Basin Creek yesterday. Dug into the snow on N and NE facing slopes at about 12,500 feet and found significantly deeper snow depths on due N slopes but somewhat similar snowpack structures. Both had two layers of facets sandwiched between firmer slabs ranging from 25-45 cm, with a couple of very thin facet layers and thicker layers overall on the due north slope. On the NE facing slope we got an ECTP 15 about 25 cm down on the interface between a 20 cm thick layer of facets and the firm wind slab above. We also got a CT 11 and a less planar fracture on the next tap on the lower slab/facet interface about 45 cm down. On the N facing slope we got a sudden planar ECTP 17 about 53 cm down that slid off the column in a hurry, as well as a CT 18 on the same interface with the same fracture characteristic. This problem is certainly very isolated and slope dependent but raises concern on steep slopes where it does exist and sets up a more complex snowpack when we finally receive a significant load.