Northern San Juan

Avalanche

Chris Dickson · Dec 31, 2021 · Northern San Juan

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Weather

S1-S2 snowfall all day, with 4-6” overnight and maybe another 6”+ throughout the day. Obscured skies all day, except for a moment when the clouds ceiling lifted and we got eyes on the alpine and observed some old crowns. Light to moderate winds, but we could hear it howling at the ridgetops.

Snowpack

Dug on a W, slightly NW, aspect, at 10,400, pretty low in the valley. 130cms of snow on the ground, approx. 70cms of new snow since 12/24. The mid pack slab here was less stout than observed across the valley, 4F, and as a result, produced a propagating fracture on the depth hoar near the ground. ECTP27.

Avalanche

The clouds lifted briefly and we caught sight of some crowns along the bases of steep north facing cliffs in the alpine.