Northern San Juan
AvalancheJeff Davis · Jan 6, 2017 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Intense wind loading was observed in the morning, but winds backed off into the afternoon. Sky was clear with temps in the low teen's.
Snowpack
Storm totals over the past 72 hours estimated 12-16 inches. New snow was deepest in protected areas and observed to be bonding well to most slopes. Wind loaded pockets were observed in E facing slopes near-treeline, but nonreactive. A hardness change was found within the new snow, but no cracking of collapsing observed. One large natural avalanche was observed on Yellow mountain and a few small Loose Dry avalanches were observed on Silver Mountain as snow fell of rocky features on a S facing slope. Very little slab quality was observed in the new snow. This area received the least amount of snow during the storm
Avalanche
One Large Natural Storm Slab avalanche was observed on a N facing steep slope on Yellow Mountain. During the day multiple Loose Dry avalanches were observed as snow fell of rocky features on the South facing side of Silver Mountain