Northern San Juan
SnowpackChris Bilbrey · Nov 11, 2019 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Clear skies, light ridge top winds, and temperatures climbing into the upper 20s F at 12,000 feet by 2 pm.
Snowpack
It's been 12 days since the last measurable snowfall in the North San Juan zone. Snow distribution and depth have decreased dramatically since the end of October. Majority of slopes that see direct sunlight are melted down to bare ground or snow cover is very spotty. North to east-facing terrain at higher elevations continues to hold the most continuous snow cover and snow depths range from about 4 to 10 inches with drifted areas up to 20 inches. However, even these shady slopes are starting to feel the effects of this prolonged spell of warm, dry weather with thinning snow cover. We found isolated pockets of stiff, wind-drifted snow above softer snow in the alpine. Thickest drifts exist in wind-sheltered couloirs and leeward side of terrain features. In one snowpit with a 1F Wind Slab over weaker snow, we observed a propagating test in an Extended Column Test (ECTP 11) failing on 1 to 2 mm facets at the ground. We only observed this one propagating test result while other test produced non-propagating results and we saw no other signs of instability. A thin melt-freeze crust is found on east-facing terrain with small facets above. Snow that persist on north-facing slopes near and below treeline is very weak and cohesionless. Finding and accessing snowfields large enough to ride is becoming more difficult each day. Taking even a small ride in one of these larger snowfields would have a nasty outcome with all the natural obstacles directly below the snow surface.