Field Report

Northern San Juan - CO

2025/01/04
Lat: 37.9057196, Lon: -107.6930867
Backcountry Area: Northern San Juan
Author: Jeff Davis
Organization: Forecaster, CAIC

Report Information

Observation Summary

I went to dig near a large remote trigger avalanche on Red Mountain 3. The avalanche occurred mid-slope in a cross-loaded terrain feature on the face known as "Hollywood."

Area Description

Red Mountain Pass.

Route Description

From Red Mountain Pass to toe of debris. Climbed debris to mid-track. Return similar route.

Avalanches

Triggered avalanche

This avalanche was triggered from a treed area 3 to 4 hundred feet away. It started on a steep northwest slope but pulled snow from west—and southwest-facing slopes as debris moved down a gully. Large, hard snow blocks were observed near trees, with piles over 6 feet deep. The avalanche ran around 350 feet and was 100 feet wide at its widest. The avalanche crown was one to two feet deep, and where the snowpack was shallow, it gouged to the ground.

Avalanche reported here- https://avalanche.state.co.us/report/83c8771b-9e4d-441e-bd0e-e4c02e39bdb8

Snowpack

Cracking: None
Collapsing: None

Digging near the flank of a recently remote-triggered avalanche on a northwest slope around 11,600 feet, a stiff pencil-hard slab sits on the surface on top of a layer of 2-3 mm facets. Below those facets, another stiff slab persists, likely created by a wind event in early December. Below the buried slab, facets, and depth hoar makeup the bottom half of the snowpack. This avalanche failed in the top hard layer but stepped down in some places, even gouging to the ground on shallower slopes. Compression Tests highlighted the weakness below both stiffer slabs, with a score of CT 21 failing simultaneously on both facet layers and popping off the block. An Extended Column Test did not produce results, and my shovel barely made a mark on the surface after 30 taps. This slope was generally a big drifted floating (meaning lots of wind-stripped slopes around it) hard slab.

Weather

Overcast skies to start the day, and light snow started to fall around 1 pm picked up as I headed out of the field. Temperatures dropped when it started snowing. Southwest wind was strong and gusty, especially near and above treeline.

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