Northern San Juan

I saw some old Loose Wet avalanches that released during the shed cycle after the April Fool's storm. I also spotted some very small fresh Loose Dry avalanches coming out of very steep north-facing terrain.

Temperatures in the low 20s warmed quickly to near freezing. Low clouds lingered for the morning but began to break up and reveal partly sunny skies by midday. I did not observe any wind or wind transport. By midday, the new snow was melting quickly in the valley under periods of sunshine.

New snow bonded well to spongy old surfaces. Below the new snow, there's a summery snowpack with a pencil-hard mipdack crust. There is still a snowpack on north-facing terrain above 11,000 feet, but below that, it's getting a bit absurd to try to travel from patch to patch. There is lots of snow above treeline, but getting to it is the problem. The best travel is also where you could potentially trigger avalanches, but it would require finding a stiff drifted slab or pocket of deep loose snow in a very steep couloir. Warm temperatures will help settle the new snow and further reduce any avalanche potential in the coming days.