Southern San Juan

Avalanche

Chris Bilbrey · Feb 18, 2019 · Southern San Juan

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Weather

Cold, overcast, and snowy. Around 7 inches new mid-day and consistent snowfall added another 2 to 3 inches by 1600.

Snowpack

Snowpack below treeline is getting deep and gaining strength in this portion of the zone. Snow depths on shady aspects are up to 2.5 meters deep and sunny slopes are over 1.5 meters deep. Snowpits on multiple aspects confirmed good bonding between storm interfaces since early February and January near-surface facets buried below non-reactive in long column test. No cracking or collapsing observed in storm snow using small test slopes or sluffing on steeper slopes. We felt comfortable skiing steep, treed slopes without evidence of wind-loading. If snowfall forecast verifies over the next 24 hours, will need to keep a keen watch-out for storm slab formation.

Avalanche

None observed