Northern San Juan
AvalancheColin Mitchell · Nov 15, 2022 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Cool and blustery on the passes. From Silverton south, skies were clear, but clouds increased steadily as I headed north. The north side of Red Mountain pass was socked in with light snow until around midday. Red received 2" of new snow this morning and Monument 1". The south stations were dry.
Snowpack
Not much has changed since the last warm spell ended a week ago. Paths with southerly aspects are mostly bare up to 12,000'. Snow is stubbornly hanging on in the shadier paths, though sublimation has slowly reduced snow depths. South of Silverton, the Champion group, West Lime Creek, and Coal Creek are the only areas holding snow. The snowpack consists of 6-18" of faceted snow with a deteriorating melt-freeze crust about 3" down. Snow depth was 8" at the Coal Bank station, 18" at the West Lime stake, and 17" on Molas Pass. To the north, conditions were similar with the Ledges and the Eagle group mostly bare, and the Brooklyns hanging on to a thin and discontinuous snowpack. Blue Point has the best coverage, with a continuous snowpack averaging around a foot, and 38" on the start zone stake. Most paths in the Gorge are largely bare with the exception of East Riverside South and Mother Cline, which are both holding a thin, but largely continuous snowpack. North Red received 3-4" new from snow showers in the past two days.
Avalanche
No new avalanches observed.