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Northern San Juan

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Northern San Juan

Published: May 25th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: May 21st, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: May 14th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: May 13th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: May 12th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: May 12th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 28th, 2026

About 8 inches of settled storm snow sits above a supportable layer likely formed by a windy and warm weather regime prior to the recent storm. Snow appears well-bonded to the new/old interface. We observed no signs of instability at the interface or within the new snow. Yesterday's intermittent pockets of clear skies and warm temperatures appear to have staved off larger shedding until warmer temperatures arrive. These warm temperatures also formed a crust on the surface of the recent snow below about 12,000 feet.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 27th, 2026

About 12 inches of heavy snow accumulated on the Velocity Basin road below about 11,400 feet. As you climb in elevation, snow decreased in density making for light spring powder conditions and higher snow totals. On north-facing terrain, about 2 feet of soft snow sits above a firm old surface formed under melt-freeze conditions and strong winds. This storm fell generally right-side up. At the top of the north-facing couloir, winds had stripped snow back to a firm surface, but right next door at the top of northeast terrain, winds had drifted snow into the start zone. We observed no instability apart from minor, slow-moving sluffs in the drifted snow, but did encounter soft debris from a slide that ran mid-storm. Deeper drifts appeared to be below ridgeline instead of right at ridgeline features. Short windows of sun between the overcast skies caused minor loose activity at the very surface of the recent snow. There's a chance a day of settlement and these short windows may slow a larger loose shed; however, with clear skies tomorrow, anticipate some movement in warming snow, particularly where steep cliffs and rocky slopes lie overhead.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 27th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 27th, 2026

In and out of the clouds all morning. Temperatures were in the mid-30s, but anytime the sun popped out, you could feel the ambient temperature soar. Wind remained fairly light throughout the morning, but there were a few westerly gusts.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 27th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 26th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 23rd, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 21st, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 19th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 18th, 2026

The recent snow from April 14th created a mixed bag of conditions. There was a soft wind effect, ripples (which were nice for skiing), and then a 5-8cm Wind Slab that would pop out dinner-table-sized sections on kick-turn corners. These wind slabs rested on a layer of softer snow that was not faceting but rather decomposing fragments from the last storm. We found a drifted spot with 155cm of snow. The wind slab failed when we isolated it in our Extended Column Test, but there was no further propagation down in the snowpack. Even at 1 pm, the snow surfaces in this basin were not yet warming up.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 17th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 17th, 2026

The above-mentioned weather has firmed surfaces in the alpine and at lower elevations. Strong winds have created stiffened caps above previously soft snow, but wind ripple and sheltered areas still allow for soft turns on high north slopes. Drifted features were lens-like and located both near ridgeline and mid-slope in couloir features. Slopes that warmed due to the sun and warmer temperatures the past two days have refrozen into a supportable firm melt-freeze layer. Will firm and slick, this refrozen surface was not breakable in the majority of places we travelled.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 16th, 2026

8 inches of settled snow sits above old snow surfaces. At lower elevations and terrain that faces more east and west, old surfaces beneath the new snow are firm from warming that occurred last week.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 15th, 2026

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.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 14th, 2026

New snow sits above old surfaces that vary depending on elevation and aspect. Lower elevations (that hold coverage) that face more east or west have a firm, slick surface that new snow has not yet bonded to on steeper slopes. As you move towards more north aspects at upper elevations, old surfaces are softer and new snow appears to be bonding better. New snow was lower density where I traveled, and drifted snow was still soft, but stiffened slightly by wind. I found drifts up to 2 feet in depth, but they did not extend far below ridgeline or were isolated to gully features. Most of what I observed was a nice refresh for those still choosing to wander in the mountains. Upper elevations were challenging to access due to visibility.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 14th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 14th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 6th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 7th, 2026

Our April Fool's snow is becoming denser and warmer each day. Travel conditions below 12,200 ft were either bare ground or a shallow layer of very moist 'mashed potato' snow. Above 12,200 ft east and south slopes contained moist snow, but north is holding on to colder conditions. This moist snow line seemed to have climbed about 1,000 feet from where I was travelling on the 6th. While temperatures are warmer than average, I've been pleasantly surprised by how well the April Fool's snow is holding at upper elevations.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 5th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 5th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 5th, 2026

Wind-drifted areas have settled and bonded well to old surfaces. I've seen no signs of instability since the 3rd during my travels, apart from some isolated and small wet loose activity due to warming. East to south to west aspects have developed a crust, whereas the norths still hold cold snow. Any crossloading from north winds on the 3rd failed to stiffen surfaces apart from right at the ridgeline. Textured ripples are soft, bonded, and show no signs of instability even on steep slopes where I travelled.

Northern San Juan

Published: Mar 30th, 2026

Attached is a picture of weather data from the month of March. The warmup started on the 17th with non-freezing temperatures or superficial freezing at 12,000 ft, lasting until the 30th. The two warmest periods when daytime temperatures hit the 50s at Putney weather station (12,327 ft) were around the 20th/21st and the 25th.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 3rd, 2026

Drifted pockets from the recent storm with depths up to 2 feet or so, and found to be unreactive to skier pressure around 11k plus. At just over 12,000ft, the new snow surface and slab body felt pressed by wind and possibly a product of the higher-density (10-12%) snow that fell in the previous 36 hours as well. The recent loading event appeared to be generally settled out to 12-14" deep. Desirable cold snow conditions can still be found, but rider-triggered wind-slabs seem to still be in play if ramping up the slope angle into the upper 30's.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 2nd, 2026

Around 15 inches of settled storm snow sits above either dirt, moist snow, or a firm slick old snow surface. In drifted leeward areas that face north and northeast, 2-3 foot drifts sit above a firm pencil hard layer. I found reactivity at density changes within the drifted snow, but did not observe instability at the new/old interface, a change from yesterday suggesting bonding has improved. If instabilities exist at the old snow surface, I would expect them at higher elevations where surfaces were colder at the onset of the storm and new snow arrived colder.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 1st, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 2nd, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 2nd, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 1st, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 2nd, 2026

8 inches in the main valley at 9700', 16 inches below treeline, and 20 inches near treeline. Sadly, the snowpack never froze solid before the new snow fell, especially below treeline. And now, the new snow is insulating the old moist snowpack. One of the larger natural avalanches we saw started in the new snow and then gouged down into the old snow, pulling out a wet slab as it went which produced some big chunky debris. We also spotted several Wind Slab avalanches on leeward east and northeast-facing slopes. Wind-drifted snow didn't exceed far below the ridgeline, but we did find some 4 inch thick slabs that were unreactive to ski pressure.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 2nd, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 2nd, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 2nd, 2026

Red Mountain pass storm # 18: 19" of new snow with 1.7" of snow-water equivalent.

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 1st, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Apr 1st, 2026

Around 14 inches of new snow sits on either bare ground or a supportable refrozen snow surface ( unsupportable moist old snow was observed on shallow slopes in the trees up to about 11,400 ft). I traveled up to 12,400 ft and found minor wind slab development right at ridgeline. Poor visibility limited travel and observations at higher elevations. These small wind drifts were reactive to ski pressure but failed to extend below ridgeline onto steeper slopes where I traveled. Larger wind drifts and slab formation are more likely at higher elevations. Despite the warm nature of this storm, small loose avalanches were reactive to ski pressure. A quick pit and corresponding compression test and shovel shear highlighted a weak layer at a density change within the new storm snow. New snow where I travelled and dug was Fist hard and did not contain any slab character.

Northern San Juan

Published: Mar 30th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Mar 29th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Mar 28th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Mar 27th, 2026

After colder temperatures on Thursday night, the top ~5 inches of the snowpack was refrozen at and above 12,000 feet. Snow patches on the road were supportable on the way up, but more post-holing occurred on the way down. The best snow coverage was observed on the mountains west of Animas Forks, on the north and east slopes. Normally, the Continental Divide holds the easiest access to high elevation snow in the late spring. This is not the case this year where a shallow snowpack and two weeks of unusually warm temperatures have melted many slopes back to bare ground.

Northern San Juan

Published: Mar 27th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Mar 27th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Mar 27th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Mar 27th, 2026

Northern San Juan

Published: Mar 26th, 2026

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