Front Range

Incremental snowfall over the week with westerly and north winds means you can trigger an avalanche where you find slabs of drifted snow on steep leeward slopes. Look for and avoid slopes with more than about 6 inches of snow drifted into pillows below ridges and inside gullies. Any avalanche has the potential to gouge down to deeper layers and grow larger. North, northeast, and east-facing slopes are the most dangerous, but you can find drifted snow on the north half of the compass.

Don't let sunshine and new snow lure you onto avalanche-prone slopes this weekend. This recent large avalanche shows that there are places with thick slabs of drifted snow over very weak layers near the ground. With more snow over the course of the week, the number of places you can trigger an avalanche is growing.