Northern San Juan
AvalancheJeff Davis · Nov 9, 2020 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Nice wintery walk for November. Mild Temperatures, intermittent snow, and southwest winds.
Snowpack
Over two feet of snow has fallen in the Silverton area. Recent wind affect was observed as many exposed alpine slopes were stripped, gullies filling in, and cornice growth near ridgelines and road cuts. Today, we focused on slopes that didn't have any October snow on the ground to see how the new snow is setting up. On a westerly slope near-treeline, around a meter of snow was observed. The cohesive slab built by this weekend's storm was right-side-up and bonded well to the warm earth. Meaning denser moist snow on the bottom and lighter/dryer snow closer to the surface. Though I was able to find weaknesses where hand hardness changed in compression tests, those same weaknesses did not propagate in long column tests. No cracking or collapsing observed on slopes that didn't have faceted snow near the ground. The ground was warm and wet in the area we dug.
Avalanche
No avalanche activity observed.