Northern San Juan

Avalanche

Public Public · Jan 28, 2020 · Northern San Juan

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Snowpack

Multiple crust/ facet layers exist on southeast aspects near and below treeline. Strength varies from slope to slope but these explosive triggered slides remind us that there is still potential for human triggered slides. Southwest aspects do not have this hazard as many of them have been stripped by recent strong winds.

Avalanche

An explosive team in the North San Juan's found unstable snow able to propagate long distances on a southeast aspect at 11,400'. Two medium sized surface shots produced two separate soft slabs, to fail below the third crust/facet layer from the top. One was 50 feet wide and another 300 feet wide, 20 to 30 inches deep. The wider one ran 1000 vertical feet. January 28, 2020, the day after Monday's storm.