Northern San Juan
AvalancheKrista Beyer · Nov 20, 2024 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Calm to light winds and cold temperatures out there. It was a puffy kind of day while not moving.
Snowpack
CR 2, along with the rest of the San Juans, has a snowpack above average for this time of the year. Snow is well preserved on west to north through east-facing slopes. I found a right-side-up snowpack of an average depth of 70 cm below treeline on northerly-facing slopes (see attached photos for more details). The snowpack was faceting top to bottom but snow grains maintained a cohesive structure supportable to skis from 0-55cm. This cohesive layer, however, was not strong enough to withstand boot pressure. Beneath 10,800 feet, where the snowpack was more shallow ( ~40-50cm), snow conditions were trapdoor to uphill ski pressure and the snowpack was fully faceted. Open slopes below treeline showed some wind effect, but were still soft. Open, unprotected near treeline slopes hold a firm, stiff, surface wind slab. This surface was impenetrable to boot or ski pressure. Thanks to a shovel and a saw, I was able to dig into a leeward ridgeline slope (see photos for more info). The wind slab is about 10cm thick, knife hard, and sits above soft fist-hard facets. Another weak layer exists in the basal facets. There is a large variation in snowpack depth near and above treeline where the winds have created a patchwork of stripped and loaded slopes. More cold nights and time before our next precipitation event will weaken the snowpack further.
Avalanche
Hard slab debris seen from a northwest-facing steep, rocky, cross-loaded terrain feature. Likely failed naturally during the wind event that occurred November 15/16th.