Northern San Juan
AvalancheKaylee Walden · Jan 29, 2023 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Beautiful weather down low, isolated high winds out of the SW. Winds were mild below about 12,000, high gusts were only at ridgetop. Clear and about 10 degrees up high, colder with windchill. 50 mph gusts.
Snowpack
Clearly shallower/scoured on windward aspects. Significant wind loading and cross loading ATL, on SE-E-NE-N. We did not perform any targeted obs/pits today, but other observed avalanches led us to believe that strong over weak structure (persistent slab) is still widespread, although perhaps too deep to affect in some places.
Avalanche
We stomped near a wind feature into a clearly wind loaded E facing couloir directly off a ridgeline, to assess stability for another objective. My partner easily propagated two D1 avalanches at the top of the run. Crown was about 65 cm.