Northern San Juan

Avalanche

Chris Bilbrey, Jeremy Yanko · Jan 28, 2022 · Northern San Juan

Weather

Temperatures recovered quickly from the chilly night. North wind kept the ambient in check as high elevation south aspects attempted to moisten under the intense sun.

Snowpack

Thursday's storm delivered around an inch of new snow at upper elevations. A little more snow or much less wind might have contributed to more widespread wind slab formation. Where we did encounter drifts around 3 or 4 inches thick, they were stubborn to ski pressure and cracking only below our feet. Sunshine and warm temperatures promoted good bonding at the new/ old crust interface on southerly-facing alpine slopes. Probing around a concave area on a southwest-facing slope at 13,100 feet yielded snow depths around 85 cm's. Snow surfaces continue to weaken in wind-sheltered terrain on the north half of the compass from prolonged cool, dry weather. Where faceting is moving down into the mid-pack slab below treeline, this could allow future slides to gouge deeper.

Avalanche

Steep narrow path on east side of Bear Mountain. Terrain with shallow cover over a spring or small creek?