Northern San Juan
AvalancheJeff Davis · Jan 8, 2016 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Between S 1 and S-1, snow precip for most of the day. Did snow S 2 in the early afternoon. Snow showers tapered off in the late afternoon. Wind were light with chilly temps.
Snowpack
This area picked up 8-12 inches throughout the storm cycle. The new snow was very low density and sitting ontop of the holiday storm snow, which has gained strength. The harder layers at the bottom of the pack are sitting on well developed depth hoar and facets. Snowpack tests on a SE aspect resulted in failures below an early season sun crust, but no propagation results. Through probing with a ski pole, the deepest snowpack is near treeline in this area. Collapsing was observed in isolated areas near vegetation.
Avalanche
Small stuff avalanches were observed on a West face below a steep rocky feature.