Northern San Juan
SnowpackChris Snell Sandy East · Feb 25, 2020 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Skies overcast, limited visibility and light snowfall all day. Gusty winds and blowing snow mostly from the NNW in the moderate range. ATL in the early afternoon gusting to strong, with times of widespread blowing snow. Temps: -18C 10:45am, -15C 12:00pm.
Snowpack
Combined storm totals in this zone about 30 centimeters since Sunday. Overall found snow surfaces stiffening/consolidating today above F hard old storm snow that rests on temp crusts or firm, wind scour. Hand shears and shovel tilt tests failed easily on a density change or latest old/new interface, down about 12-15 centimeters. In more protected areas NTL this surface slab was just cohesive enough to stay together - a couple hundred feet higher with more wind in the mix and it was noticeably thicker, up to 25 centimeters and approaching 1F hardness. Some localized cracking while skiing on slopes up to 35 degrees but didn’t get any snow moving. Had one shot of better visibility later in the day and did not observe any new avalanches in BTL and NTL terrain.