Northern San Juan

Avalanche

Chris Dickson · Nov 26, 2019 · Northern San Juan

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Weather

Off and on snow with ~2-4cms of accumulation throughout the tour. Visibility was minimal for most of the morning. Moderate to strong winds out of the W/NW. Pretty damn cold.

Snowpack

Dug on a sheltered NE/E aspect at 11,400’ below the ridge at the top of Jane’s. Height of snow was 70CM with 30cm of new storm snow sitting on top of 25 cm of snow from the last storm and 15CM of basal facets at the ground. Tests revealed an ECTP11 SP result with the slab breaking at the facet layer, 55cm down. A propagation saw test on that facet layer resulted in a PST40/100 SF. Overall the recent snow is uncohesive and has has not stiffened enough yet to communicate fractures across distance, but as this storm slab settles, that’ll be something to watch out for. The new snow was dry and provided ample face shots.

Avalanche

No avalanches observed.