Northern San Juan
AvalancheColin Mitchell · Dec 14, 2021 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Warm, damp and breezy. Intermittent fog. We had some light snow in the morning that added up to maybe an inch.
Snowpack
Lots of settlement and melting since the last storm. I hiked up into West Lime, East Lime, and Henry Brown paths, and east-facing terrain near the Gladstones. In East Lime, I found 30 cm of 1f- rounds sitting on the ground, topped by a 2-3 cm thick melt-freeze crust with around an inch of new snow from this morning on top. Henry Brown was very similar, only less snow, around 20-25 cm, and a slightly thicker crust. West Lime had 30 cm of 4f mixed forms. The Coal Bank study plot had an HS of 60 cm, all rounds, with a hardness gradient. 1f at the ground, softening to 4f near the surface. Overall, a nice stable snowpack with no issues on Coal Bank Pass. The Gladstones area was holding old snow from October at the ground, and had a more concerning structure with an HS of around 45 cm, 35 cm of 4f rounds over a thin crust with 3-5 mm depth hoar below that. I had a collapse when digging my pit and got an ECTP 13. I targeted this area because I knew that it had continuous coverage before our recent snows, albeit thin. The nearby Jenny Parker and Champion paths were more discontinuous, at least what was visible from the road.
Avalanche
No new activity observed.