Northern San Juan
AvalancheColin Mitchell · Apr 13, 2020 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Cool and blustery. Gusty and variable northerly winds at pass level. No signs of blowing snow along or around the corridor.
Snowpack
Yesterday's storm left only an inch or two of snow here favoring Molas Pass. Cold temperatures have frozen the upper layers of the snowpack. A quick pit on top of Molas revealed about 2 feet of K to I frozen melt forms and ice masses above dry snow. Coal Bank had a 4"-thick K-hard crust over moist rounds to a similar depth. This section of highway is melting fast. The West Lime stake has dropped 30" since the beginning of the month. Average HS in this path is less than 16". Other paths are starting to melt out completely. Drainage has been established, and I expect all paths south of Molas Pass to be pretty much melted out within the week if the weather forecast verifies. The Champion group has the most snow of all the paths on this stretch of highway, ~2', but avalanches to the road from these paths have become unlikely.
Avalanche
No new activity observed in or around the corridor