Southern San Juan
SnowpackChris Bilbrey · Feb 28, 2020 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Beautiful spring-like day in the mountains. Light winds, abundant sunshine, and temperatures above freezing around 11,000 feet. Thin, high layer of clouds moved overhead in the early afternoon and kept temperatures at bay.
Snowpack
We traveled in all three elevation bands and on multiple aspects and found generally safe avalanche conditions. Below treeline slopes got the warmest but we didn't observe any loose wet activity where we traveled. The upper end of near treeline and alpine slopes softened but didn't get moist. A light breeze above 12,000 feet kept snow surfaces mostly cold and dry. Southerly-facing terrain has become more supportable near the surface but weaker snow still lingers below. Snow surfaces are a combination of wind-packed/ wind-board, sastrugi, or settled powder. A new, thin melt-freeze crust formed at the surface on slopes seeing direct sunshine. We did observe minor cracking on a isolated portion of a treeline apron where the snow surface was breakable and grabby. This slope faced north and no slides resulted from surface cracking. Northerly terrain below treeline that has been sheltered from recent strong winds offered the softest riding conditions.