Northern San Juan
SnowpackDavid Mower · Dec 8, 2012 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Overcast sky, 26F with steady wind out of the SW at ridgeline.
Snowpack
Walking the ridgeline north of McMillan Peak I noticed a terrain feature funneling a fair amount of snow by wind transport onto a NE face. Evaluating the snow depth of the upper face at around 2'-3', I initially thought this may be a good spot to make a descent. Concerned about stability on this wind loaded face I stomped above a developing cornice to check for cracking or a release, progressively heading north and closer to the edge. At the thinnest point of the snowpack, around 1', my companion and I simultaneously stomped above the cornice and a crack ran south. It propagated ~150' to the southern terminus of the pocket and released a soft wind slab running about 350' vertical with a crown ranging from 8'' to 18'' .