Steamboat & Flat Tops

A weak layer of surface hoar is buried 1 to 2 feet deep in the Park Range. You can trigger an avalanche on these layers large enough to bury you. Look out for this layer on steep northwest through northeast to east-facing slopes, especially in open meadows and slopes directly below ridgetop.

You can trigger slides in recently drifted snow, too. A foot of new snow from around Mount Werner to Rabbit Ears Pass means that avalanches in the new snow will be deeper and easier to trigger there. Any avalanche has the potential to gouge down to deeper layers and grow larger. Take care where you find more than about 6 inches of drifted snow on the north half of the compass. Cracking in the new snow is a sign to avoid similar steep slopes.