Northern San Juan

Avalanche

Jeff Davis · Apr 3, 2018 · Northern San Juan

View on map

Weather

tr"-2" of new snow fell overnight. Tuesday brought spring-like temperatures and strong sunshine.

Snowpack

tr"- 2" of new snow fell overnight on a firm surface and depth increased with elevation. On upper elevation shady slopes the snow stuck well to what was a chalky surface but warmed quickly. The "Big News" of today was that the snowpack in shallow areas is isothermal and I was able to punch to the ground on many near and below treeline slopes. I also sunk to the ground near rock features in the alpine. We were out of the backcountry by noon, and it already felt like wet snow avalanche potential was on the rise. Steep and saturated slopes are prime for Wet avalanches late in the day.

Avalanche

Few Loose Wet avalanches observed from last week of warming.