Northern San Juan

Avalanche triggered in steep, shallow, rocky terrain. It was triggered in soft snow that did not feel particularly stiff, nor had visual cues of loading. The crown line was shy of a foot thick and 10-15 feet wide, but it picked up speed and travelled the length of the avalanche path. It mostly stayed confined to the dimensions of its crown line, but did pull out an adjacent area at the bottom below a cliff band (also shallow and rocky). It mostly stayed confined to the new snow apart from the top which gouged into weak facets around shallow rocks.

Warm temps felt a little cooler above treeline due to gusty winds from the south. Low light made for tough depth perception.

Recent snow remains soft but has a slightly stiffer slab character on wind-exposed alpine slopes that tilt north. This snow sits above old surfaces that include firm slick areas (does not adhere well), old wind-impacted surfaces (adhered better), and shallow weak, completely rotten facets (these facets are ready to move on uncompacted steep slopes). Near and below treeline, recent snow has settled into a blanket above weak facets. These slopes have a punchy character where you can easily drop into weak facets below. The below treeline elevation band generally has the most widespread weak character, but the alpine also hosts areas that have fully faceted through wind slabs during the long high pressure periods (shallow, steep and rocky being the biggest culprit). South developed a thin temperature crust and in many places is just the recent snow on grass and rocks.