Northern San Juan

Avalanche

Nolan Averbuch · Dec 29, 2019 · Northern San Juan

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Weather

Wx ob: top of front yard 11112', East Aspect, 1415: -FEW, No precip, -14.5C Tair, -19.5C Tsurf (shady spot), Light wind Northerly, No blo sno, HS 130cm, Pen Ski 25cm Wx ob: top of lower porphyry shoulder ski run 11680', ESE aspect 1442 -Few, No precip, -16C Tair, -12.5C Tsurf (Sunny spot), Light wind Northerly, No blo no, HS 74cm

Snowpack

Snowpack revealed a <1 m snowpack in a sunny exposed spot (duh), a column test revealed that there are reactive layer within the new snow but they are not deep enough, nor cohesive to form a slab, yet. More concerning is the failure at 4cm with a medium/hard hit (CT17) which released a well formed slab relatively easily. This pit was more reactive, especially on the persistent weak layer at the ground, than deeper pits dug before the storm.

Avalanche

Small sluffs from rocks NTL, ATL