Northern San Juan
SnowpackJeff Davis · Mar 25, 2024 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Light snow and clouds. Northerly winds near and above treeline where strong enough to move snow. Temperatures in the teens.
Snowpack
Traveling near and below treeline I was surprised with how unreactive the new snow was on the curst layer it fell on. With the surface being warm prior to the storm the new snow seems to have bonded well at lower elevations. As I gained elevation the snow surface did start to stiffen, and in this area, north winds loaded southerly slopes. Digging on an east aspect near treeline I found 50 cm's of drifted snow on the melt crust. Facets observed around the crust and the crust crumbled while digging the pit wall face. I was expecting to get more test results on the crust layer, but did not. I did get one hard propagating result (ECTP28) towards the bottom of the new snow, likely a layer that developed during a break in the storm. below the new snow layers the snowpack is 1-finger to pencil + hard. The Feb dust layers are still present but the color is fading.