Southern San Juan

Snowpack

Rebecca Hodgetts Chris Bilbrey · Jan 26, 2024 · Southern San Juan

Weather

Temperatures warmed from 10F to 20F during the morning. Moderate northerly winds did not contribute to efficient drifting. Snow surfaces started to get warm, around 11 AM, on southerly, wind-sheltered slopes under mostly clear skies and abundant sunshine.

Snowpack

Snowfall over the last 5 days has not contributed to dramatic change in overall conditions. ECTs produced non-propagating results at the 1/21 interface with small near-surface facets below this weeks snowfall. Cracks started to propagating across the column around 7 taps from the writs, but the slab was too soft to support failure across the entire column. This will be something to watch once fresh slabs build above. Height of snow on northerly-facing slopes ranged 90 to 130 cm. Southerly-facing slopes below treeline averaged 60 cm, with a 5 cm breakable melt-freeze crust around 5 to 10 cm below the surface. New surface hoar formation observed in sheltered areas below treeline, but upcoming warm weather this week will likely reduce their lingering threat. As stated in the summary, multiple snowpack tests produced ECTX and hard CT results at the 1/4 and 1/10 interface suggesting a decrease in the slab/ weak layer sensitivity. Despite these more promising tests results, the snowpack structure is still worrisome overall - stiff mid-pack slab sitting above weaker basal layers. The upper slab can easily support the weight of a smaller forecaster, and boot penetration was only around 30 cm. The next week of forecast mild weather will likely continue the trend toward more stubborn conditions.