Southern San Juan
AvalancheChris Bilbrey · Nov 19, 2023 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Moderate snowfall throughout the day (S1 to S2) with generally light south wind. Obscured skies became overcast around 3 PM, with occasional pokes of sunlight.
Snowpack
We found around 6 inches of snow at 10,000 feet, around 9 inches at 11,000 feet, and 12 inches at our "mini" snowpit location on a southeast-facing slope at 11,500 feet. Slopes we traveled on were void of weak, early-season snow at the ground. We did notice very minor cracking at a storm/ density layer change around 3 inches below the surface in deeper drifted areas. These places were too small in size to pose much hazard on our travels, but northerly terrain above treeline may harbor isolated drifts that could produce enough moving snow to knock you off your feet. In general, any slide triggered would be small due to shallow overall snow depths and likely not travel very far downhill.
Avalanche
None observed