Northern San Juan

Snowpack

Ann Mellick · Apr 10, 2013 · Northern San Juan

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Weather

Unsettled, with periods of sun, followed by light snow showers. Moderate, chilly north wind. Quite cold for April!!!

Snowpack

New snow varied from 6"-12", with deeper drifts. Newest snow is white, but as noted by many, the snow from the early (southerly) part of the storm is very dirty. Several loose slides ran on east-facing terrain on the dust layer. All of these slides were triggered by warming and under either trees or rocky terrain. We found good bonding of the new snow to the old on the slopes we traveled on (west and north at all elevations). The snow on sunnier slopes was turning moist by midday, despite cold temperatures.