Northern San Juan
SnowpackKrista Beyer · Mar 27, 2025 · Northern San Juan
Weather
A nearby weather station (Eagle - CAIC) at 12,2852 feet showed a high of 33 degrees around 12:00 pm and an overnight low of 29 degrees and southwest winds 5-10 mph. Weather stations at lower elevations showed deeper freezes overnight (20 degrees in Silverton at 9267 feet) and higher highs during the day (55 degrees in Silverton).
Snowpack
I traveled below, near, and above treeline between about 10,500 and 13,300 feet. Generally, I can describe the snowpack as wet and worn out on southerly aspects, beaten up on west and northwest aspects and transitioning on north and northeast aspects. East appears to be the epicenter for wet slab activity, with some observed slides at a little north tilt and some at a south tilt. High-elevation north aspects have seen the least impact from warming. Southeast to south through west aspects have moist grains from top to bottom at all elevation bands where I traveled (I did not travel on east). I dug on a northwest and southeast slope. You can find moist grains from top to bottom on southeast slopes. In this location, a generally right-side-up snowpack is a reassuring sign that slab activity is unlikely here. If you were to trigger a wet avalanche, it would probably slide on the dust layer near the top of the snowpack. Northwest slopes hold weak layers within wind-drifted pencil-hard slabs, but no reactivity on basal facets. Layers within the wind slabs proved to be non-propagating and moderate to impact. Impacting weak layers beneath these firm wind slabs is difficult. The recent prevailing wind direction makes west and northwest slopes the most wind-battered with the thin, firm wind slabs and easterly slopes the most loaded with the thickest slabs of recent snow.