Northern San Juan

Avalanche

Jeff Davis · Feb 4, 2025 · Northern San Juan

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Weather

It was overcast to start, but there were moments of sunshine. Winds were stronger at upper elevations but calm in valleys. Temperatures were seasonably warm, and it felt hot whenever the sun popped.

Snowpack

Digging at the Bonita Mine site around 11,500 feet in a flat area, large grain facets and depth hoar persist under a crust on the surface. The middle of the snowpack has a stiffer slab above weak snow but the slab did not fail on snowpack tests.

Avalanche

Old avalanche activity was observed, likely from the Sunday spike warming. The avalanches started in rocky terrain as Loose avalanches, but broke with flanks into slabs running on dry, weak buried facets.