Northern San Juan
SnowpackMatt Steen John Snook · Jan 7, 2013 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Morning inversions not as strong as previous days with high valley temps around 10-15F. High thin overcast to broken skies in the morning became few by afternoon. Winds primarily calm with only a few very light gusts just above treeline. Temperatures warmed to near freezing at treeline.
Snowpack
The snowpack near Rico ranged from 1.5 feet below treeline to 2-3 feet near treeline on terrain facing northeast through southeast. Recent sunny days have melted and refrozen thin-surface crusts on slopes that face the sun. Thick wind-blown slabs and drifts on ridgelines extend 10 to 20 feet below exposed areas. Below these hard slabs the snowpack quickly reduced in thickness and stiffness. Snow depths were generally thin on east facing terrain near treeline. One and a half to three feet of soft snow (4 finger to fist) rests on a thin layer (5-10cm) of basal facets on these east aspects. The persistent slabs are breaking down and becoming less cohesive on these easterly aspects. Minor cracking was observed along exposed ridgelines in hard windslabs, failing 4-5 inches below the snow surface, otherwise no other collapsing or cracking.