Northern San Juan
AvalancheJeff Davis Chris Bilbrey · Apr 30, 2019 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Periods of intense snowfall followed by moments of sunshine throughout the day. Approximately 12-15 inches of snow in the past 24 hours with well over an inch of SWE. Southwest winds were moderate with strong gusts on exposed ridgelines and open slopes.
Snowpack
The current spring storm left behind a healthy dose of wet snow. Southwest winds were strong enough to move the new snow onto leeward slopes and build large cornices. Snow was dryer at upper elevations than near and below treeline, but still not "Cold Smoke" to say the least. The new snow bonded well to the preexisting snow surface which had refrozen, but triggering an avalanche on a steep loaded slopes is not out of the question. Warm temperatures continued to accelerate the settling process below treeline and we can expect a short lived Wet Loose avalanche cycle once the sun pops and temperatures rise at upper elevations.
Avalanche
Small Loose Wet avalanches were observed in the afternoon on steep west facing slopes near Highway 550. We triggered a large avalanche with a controlled cornice drop on a north facing slope in the alpine. Any avalanche will be confined to the new snow at this point.