Northern San Juan
AvalancheJeff Davis Ann Mellick · Mar 2, 2018 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Springlike day in the North San Juan zone. Warm temperatures, ample sunshine, and winds from the south.
Snowpack
Winds, temperatures, and solar all played a part in changing the snowpack today. Southerly winds continued to move snow, specifically at higher elevations. On exposed slopes, wind etching was observed and many west-facing slopes were stripped. On leeward slopes and in cross-loaded terrain hard slabs of snow made it difficult to set and edge. Temperatures above freezing and the strong sun warmed sunny and lower elevation slopes. In a snowpit on a NE facing slope near treeline the mid-pack slab is faceting, but still persists. Snowpack tests showed that the slab/weak-layer combo has the ability to fail and propagate. Further down the slope below treeline there was very little slab observed in protected areas. Lots of water was observed on roads as the snowpack is quickly melting.
Avalanche
Few small point release avalanches were observed out of steep rocky terrain in the afternoon of sunny slope.