Northern San Juan
SnowpackChris Bilbrey Jeff Davis · Jan 3, 2020 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Strong and blustery northerly winds. Temperatures were brisk at higher elevations and warmer in wind-sheltered, sunny areas. East and southeast-facing slopes started to form a thin zipper crust by later in the afternoon.
Snowpack
Northerly winds had scoured, stripped, and stiffened alpine slopes while loading slopes facing east to south through west. Deepest pockets of wind-blown snow found directly below ridges and in cross-loaded terrain features. We only observed cracking below our skis in isolated, thicker drifts and no collapses. Wind-effect to the snow surface was not as pronounced near treeline and dissipated quickly with elevation loss. We found soft riding conditions and generally safe avalanche conditions on wind-sheltered, near and below treeline slopes facing west and northeast.