Northern San Juan
SnowpackChris Bilbrey · Dec 13, 2018 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Sunny and cold. Moderate north winds at treeline with intermittent strong gusts, especially at higher peaks.
Snowpack
New snow below treeline was light and fluffy and we didn't observe any cracking or collapsing along steep road cuts. Once we climbed near treeline, observed numerous settlement cracks alrong with collapsing while skinning. Small test slopes near treeline produced cracks outward approx. 15 feet, but no snow movement downhill. We observed several natural wind-slab avalanches above treeline that originated directly below ridges and in steep, rocky terrain. Wind-slabs did not propagate in stability test on E and SE aspects. ECTs produced propagating results on buried weak layers on E aspect pit.