Southern San Juan
SnowpackChris Bilbrey · Nov 18, 2022 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Cold and sunny. Cloud cover was visible to the north around Red Mountain Pass but never pushed south to the Molas Pass area. Winds were light out of the west-southwest. By 11 am, cloud cover to the north dissipated and long-distance visibility improved.
Snowpack
The shallow snowpack continues to weaken from the cold, dry weather. The structure is degrading fastest on northerly slopes near and below treeline, and wind-sheltered areas in the alpine. Surface faceting was observed on east and west-facing slopes, but deeper snow layers were harder overall. We guesstimate that 3 to 4 inches of snow fell on upper elevation slopes in the past week, and is faceting quickly. Wind-exposed areas in the alpine harbor a dense windshield below about 10 cm of near-surface facets, and we spotted a few loose snow sluffs at that interface. Those slides probably ran on or around 11/17. Despite how quickly the overall snowpack structure has weakened, it remains fairly supportive to travel on skis, but boot penetration was to the ground on most slopes.