Northern San Juan
AvalancheJeff Davis · Dec 22, 2023 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Few clouds. Light southwest wind. Temperatures in the 20's.
Snowpack
The height of snow near and below treeline in the Ophir area ranges from 0 to around 80 cm's. Deepest on north and east slopes above 11,000' shallowest on sunny and lower elevations slopes. South slopes have melted back to bare ground to treeline. Many rocks and terrain undulations were observed in the alpine, highlighting spatial variability in snow depth at upper elevations. Digging on an NNE right at a treeline in Nevada Gulch, a slab of weak-layer combination was highlighted in compression tests but did not propagate in long column tests. However, the snowpack was able to hold my weight while traveling uphill. Boot penetration was to ground, and I could feel the tails of my skis breaking through the mid-pack slab while skiing. No cracking and Minor collapsing.
Avalanche
No new avalanches observed.