Northern San Juan

New snow and strong winds increase your chances of triggering an avalanche in drifted snow near and above treeline. The most dangerous terrain is upper elevation slopes that face north, northeast, and east where dense, cohesive slabs of wind-stiffened snow sit on top of widespread weak layers. Here you could trigger an avalanche from a distance or from below and avalanches could break deeper and wider than expected. Avoid traveling near common trigger points, such as convex rollovers, rocky outcrops, or the thinner margins of a slab. Give yourself a wide buffer from suspect slopes steeper than about 35 degrees. 

Cracking and collapsing are signs of an unstable slope and an indication to move to lower-angle terrain. Be aware that you may not observe these signs of instability before triggering an avalanche.