Northern San Juan

Avalanche

Michael Barney · Dec 14, 2014 · Northern San Juan

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Weather

Overcast to broken skies with light to moderate winds out of the WNW

Snowpack

ECTP 7 Sudden Collapse Q1 36cm down on old/new interface. 110 cm HS @ 11,500' on WNW aspect. Weak faceted structure under 36cm new. I did not see SH on top of old snow but 1-2 mm NSF. The pit was about 350' below the avalanche and to the NW

Avalanche

AS-SS-R2-D2-I It ran about 250' and was about 75' wide and the crown looked to be 45 to 55 cm deep. It was at 11,900' on a NW aspect. I was unable to reach the crown or bed surface. I did not witness the avalanche and I am inferring that the skier was caught because of his track entering the slope and then no visible track until they possibly exited the moving snow 50 to 75' down.