Northern San Juan
AvalancheAmy Pertuz · Dec 4, 2022 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Mild temperatures with cloud cover increasing to overcast during the day.
Snowpack
The HS on near and below tree line slopes here ranges from 50-70cm and is composed of three primary layers: Very large grained facets on the ground from late October/early November snows, a large grained facet layer from mid November comprises the middle of the snowpack, with recent storm snow on top. This highly faceted snowpack will not be able to handle much additional load. Cracking was localized around our skis and we did not experience collapses or shooting cracks. The snowpack was barely supportable in some areas, and we occasionally punched through on BTL slopes here on our descent. Above tree line, winds have done a number on many alpine slopes in the red mountain pass corridor. Northerly and Easterly slopes that are very protected from winds and have large upstream fetches of snow are the only above tree line slopes holding continuous cover. On above tree line slopes with more wind exposure, slopes were stripped, and only gullies and depressions in the terrain held onto any snow. Near tree line slopes in this area showed signs of drifting, but we experienced soft surface conditions here.
Avalanche
no new avalanches