Vail & Summit County

You can trigger an avalanche on west through north to south-facing slopes at all elevations. You are most likely to trigger an avalanche from a shallower area of a slope like near exposed rocks, bushes, or grass. If you do trigger a slide that breaks into weak layers near the ground, it will likely wrap around multiple terrain features and run farther than you anticipate. You may be able to trigger a small slide near the surface in recently wind-drifted snow as well. If you do, don’t be surprised if it causes a failure in the weak layers near the ground and causes a much larger avalanche. Look for and avoid recently drifted snow on leeward features as well as shallower areas of a slope near steep terrain. Choose where you ride carefully and avoid traveling on or underneath slopes greater than about 30 degrees.