Northern San Juan

Avalanche

Jeremy Yanko · Dec 11, 2020 · Northern San Juan

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Weather

Intermittent snow S-1, mostly cloudy. North wind ~ 15-20 mph Gusts 30 mph. Felt like winter ~ 20 F

Snowpack

Varied from 40cm to 100cm throughout N/NE aspect between 11k to 12,800 ft. New snow- unconsolidated fluff of 10-15 cm ontop of faceted wind/temp crust layer. Well developed faceting below to ground or a mid pack decomposing hard slab with facets above and below. This layer supportable to skis but not boot.

Avalanche

On our ascent up a large setup sluff pile we began to notice blocks of snow on surface of debris flow. To the best of our eyes ability; This avalanche was of particular interest as it originated out of a small hanging snow field, gained force over steep rocks (dry loose) sympathetically triggering ~ 1 meter full depth slab. The crown was isolated to more of a pocket in the top of a ~38 degeee gully feature. SS-NL/r- R2-D 1.5- G. ~3ft x ~15ft x 500ft. Sorry No images recorded