Northern San Juan

Avalanche

Susan Hale Josh Hirshberg · Dec 26, 2013 · Northern San Juan

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Weather

Clear, cold - felt teens. Breezy at times.

Snowpack

In protected NW below treeline terrain - snow very weak, faceted top to bottom. Skis sink into snow when you stop in most places. No real slab left. Open areas or near or above treeline wind affected snow more supportive and variable wind affect from recent NW-N winds. Old wind slab layers evident but also faceting. Found reactive Surface Hoar layer near treeline on WNW aspect (see pit - felt location may also be representative of ATL terrain in this area).

Avalanche

This avalanche was observed from the highway. Suspect date was 12-24-13 - wind event (strong northerly winds).