Northern San Juan
SnowpackDerf Berfle · Dec 19, 2017 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Mild and dry. Melting snow on Southerly aspects above treeline.
Snowpack
Anywhere from non-existent on Southerly faces up to approx. 80 cm in N and NE above treeline, windloaded gullies. Below treeline, true North aspects were full depth facets around 30 cm deep, with small, weak crusts as the slopes turned East and West. Some of these crusts, especially more southerly, were supportive. Some spots had slightly denser faceted crystals but a far cry from a slab. Snow surfaces above treeline were largely wind-affected with supportable wind crusts and near surface facets in protected areas Most interesting snowpack observed was in a NE facing gully around 12,500. Surface was a supportive wind crust on top of 20cm facets, on top of another crust, another 20-30 cm of facets, above a Pencil-Knife hard crust with about 10 cm of facets below that.