Northern San Juan
AvalancheJeff Davis · Feb 2, 2024 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Light to no wind. Foggy with moments of flurries after 9am. Warm and humid.
Snowpack
Around 6" of higher density snow observed at 12,000' in the Ophir area. Drifts near ridgelines up to a foot. The new snow seemed perfect for making snowpeople as it easily formed into snowballs and rollerballs were triggered by skiing at lower elevations. The new snow fell on a variety of surfaces and seemed to bond better to the crusts that formed over the last week of warm temperatures VS. the near-surface facets that were likely on shady slopes. This conclusion came about with little hand pits and the avalanche activity observed. The new snow was not enough at this point to form dangerous Storm Slabs though it was settling quickly. Digging on an east aspect at 11,000' near the skin track snowpit tests continue to highlight the January facets (1/4) as the layer of concern. Looking ahead at the possible storm later next week below treeline areas will get spicy with a larger load as many slopes now have a buried crust just below the new snow that is likely to promote faceting above and the 1/4 layer is well within the top meter of the snowpack. Boot penetration to ground. No collapsing and isolated cracking in drifted areas near ridgeline. The Ophir area in terms of snowpack is on the shallower compared to other parts of the Southern Mountains. Trending like the areas closer to Silverton up CR 110 and CR 2.
Avalanche
Small Loose avalanches in the new snow on steep slopes were easily triggered by kicking very small pieces of snow from steep rocks onto northerly slopes. There was one decent D1.5 slab avalanche in Eldo that may have run natural overnight.