Steamboat & Flat Tops

You will likely trigger an avalanche on easterly-facing terrain where the wind drifts snow into thick slabs. Be careful on any slope where you find more than about eight inches of new or wind-drifted snow. Rounded pillows of snow that crack and collapse are a sign you have found unstable snow, and engaging with steep terrain is inadvisable when you see this. If you trigger an avalanche in the surface snow, it may step down to deeply buried weak layers. You may get no warning signs before triggering a deeper avalanche, even after multiple tracks cross a slope. If you suspect you are traveling on slopes with a weak layer, stick to slopes less than 30 degrees.