Southern San Juan
SnowpackChris Bilbrey · Jan 6, 2022 · Southern San Juan
Weather
A nice day in the mountains. Abundant sunshine and only a few cirrus clouds by late-afternoon. West winds were moving snow in the alpine. Snow plumes visible off peaks, but fetches seem to run out of snow to move and drifting became less widespread throughout the day
Snowpack
Over-the-snow travel with boards and machines has improved over the last week. Direct feedback suggesting unstable snow below is more or less non-existent. No cracking or collapsing on our travels today. Snow depths on many aspects and at all elevations is a meter or more deep. We did not identify any discernable weak layers on southerly-facing slopes and the pack is comprised of December storm snow. The top two to three inches of snow on any slope that sees direct sunlight got moist and formed a firm curst once shaded. Evidence of recent strong winds observed all the way down to about 10,500 feet on northerly-facing slopes. Any north-tilted slope above 11,000 feet still harbors basal facets, but areas where you could impact that layer give the depth of the snowpack appear limited. While finding a shallow part of the slope is more difficult, if you do find a spot to trigger a slide, it would be devastating. In general, snow cover and extent is impressive for early-January considering how dry and sparse things were almost one-month ago today. Sensitivity of buried weak snow varies between drainages in the La Plata Mountains requiring additional scrutiny to evaluate slope stability.