Southern San Juan
SnowpackChris Bilbrey · Mar 11, 2022 · Southern San Juan
Weather
Sunny, cold day and strong northwest wind transporting lots of snow near and above treeline. Winds were strong enough below treeline to knock snow out of trees and stiffen the upper snow layers above 11,000 feet give or take.
Snowpack
The most significant snowpack finding from today's travels was depth of recent snowfall above weak facets buried on 2/21. The overlying slab (70 cm) in this particular area is about half the depth as the same aspect and similar elevation found in the west side of the La Plata Mountains. While the depth of facets was less than 10 cm's thick, we could still detect a hollow feeling below the upper slab probing across northerly-facing terrain near and below treeline. These grains are showing initial signs of rounding, but still failed with 28 taps in Extended Column Test. No cracking or collapsing on slopes around 35 degrees or less. Many alpine surfaces look smooth and filled in from impressive wind transport and drifting over the past 24 hours. The wind even thickened the snow surface on open, below treeline slopes above 11,000 feet, and the snow felt punchy in spots. Northwest wind kept snow surfaces cool and dry on southerly aspects with little to no loose dry action from steeper, rocky terrain.