Northern San Juan

Snowpack

No new obs today other than significant loading around Silverton today above treeline. I was just doing companion rescue sessions at Kendall Mtn, so no quality time in the field. That said, the 3 SH layers (buried Dec 29, Jan 2, Jan9) were easy to find and intact around Kendall, but the 10cm of depth hoar at the ground was shockingly weak. Unlike what I've seen around other parts of south central CO. The basal layer showed no signs of sintering and collapsed on isolation each time I tried to cut a column. Jumping around on steep road cuts produced consistent fractures to the ground. No hazard now, just a bunch of 4F weak snow (with imbedded SH layers), but won't hold a big load when the time comes. Who knows when that big storm might come, but it's a weaker below treeline snowpack than what I've seen recently. See attached photo that illustrates basic weak structure w/ Dec 29 and Jan 2 SH layers prominently displayed.