Southern San Juan
SnowpackChris Bilbrey Jason Konigsberg · Dec 29, 2019 · Southern San Juan
Weather
A mixture of sun and fog. Temperatures were pleasant in the sun and down right chilly in the shade. Generally light southwest winds were not transporting the plethora of available snow.
Snowpack
The snowpack on northerly slopes is deep and strong with no signs of instability observed. Steep cut banks and slopes tested in the area with nary a crack. The height of snow is ~ 2 meters and no reactive weak layers were found in the upper meter of the snowpack. The storm snow is right side up and stable. Compression Tests showed a few results but all with a broken fracture character and really not worth listing. Southerly slopes are a little bit of a different story. The snowpack is still strong but the structure is more complex with several buried crust/facet combos, some deeply buried. While digging a pit on a southwest-facing slope we experience a large, drainage-wide collapse. An extended column test had a result of ECTP25 on faceted snow 35 cm up from the ground beneath a crust. HS = 135 cm on this slope. Overall northerly slopes are deep and strong and southerly and westerly slopes should be evaluated a bit more carefully. These previously thin start zones now have a 3 foot slab resting on weaker snow layers. We did not see any evidence of wind loading today. There is plenty of snow available for transport should winds increase.