Southern San Juan

Snowpack

Mark Mueller · Dec 15, 2019 · Southern San Juan

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Weather

10" of new snow with 1.1" of water content measured at the CAIC Snow Study Plot this morning. Winds increased as the day progressed with gusts reaching 60 mph. Snowfall also increased as the day progressed, 5" fell between 0900 and 1500 at the Study Plot. As of 1500 the storm total is 19" with 1.8" of water content.

Snowpack

Ski tests in a windloaded NE aspect produced no signs of instability. Moderate collapse was observed on aspects where recent melt-freeze crusts have formed. A large D2 avalanche was triggered by a harmless sluff that traveled into the track where it dug into old snow causing propagation that traveled several hundred vertical feet back to the ridgeline triggering the slide that went to the ground in places.