Northern San Juan

Snowpack

Ann Mellick · Jan 6, 2020 · Northern San Juan

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Weather

Clear and cold.

Snowpack

The snowpack on the north side of the range is generally thinner and weaker than the nearby Red Mt Pass. Snow on shady slopes below treeline was generally about 60-80cm deep and mostly faceted top to bottom. Near and above treeline areas have highly variable snow depths and structure from recent winds alternately scouring and loading. Surface wind slabs up to 6" thick found near treeline, though these were not continuous across the slope. Shallow slabs sat next to full depth faceted areas with no slab present at all. No collapsing. Snowpit on a northwest aspect near treeline revealed the largest depth hoar I have seen this season with a stout slab sitting on top. These were reactive in compression tests (CT 12 x2 and 15, SC) though not in Extended column tests (ECTX x2).