Northern San Juan
AvalancheJeff Davis · Jan 14, 2017 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Heavy snow on Hy 145 and CR 361 observed until approximately 11:30am. Winds were calm and temperatures were mild. ~5-7 inches fell in this area between 5-11:30 am.
Snowpack
New snow was overloading snowpack triggering wide-spread natural activity. Small Storm snow avalanches were observed in many areas as larger avalanches were seen coming out of localized steep terrain. Extended periods of good visibility were lacking to get eyes on the high alpine, but no Larger new Persistent Slabs avalanches were observed in the Camp Bird area. The new snow was triggering something with the storm snow over the past few weeks. I would guess Surface Hoar with the other observations we have been receiving from around the forecast area. Upon examining an old very large avalanche above treeline on a S-SE facing slope multiple Crust/Facet combinations were observed at the bottom of the snowpack. It looked as if the avalanche started up high on a South facing slope in storm snow, but stepped down as snow pored over a cliff. The largest parts of the crown were observed on a cross-loaded SE facing slope and near cliff bands.
Avalanche
Widespread R1-D1 avalanches observed observed in the BTL elevation band. A few large slides observed