Steamboat & Flat Tops

Strong winds are drifting snow into cohesive slabs near and above treeline. The most hazardous slopes face an easterly direction where you find firm wind-drifted snow over weak layers buried two to three feet deep. The avalanche you trigger may stay in the upper snowpack, but if it breaks down into the deeper weak layers it would become very large and destructive. Steep rocky terrain with variable coverage and many trigger points are the slopes where you are more likely to trigger a deeper avalanche. You can find safer riding on planar slopes with a deep snowpack and no weak layer or slab.