Steamboat & Flat Tops

You can easily trigger an avalanche on slopes where you find more than about 8 inches of new or drifted snow. You may see cracks in the surface snow, warning you of unstable slabs. Slabs can be dense or soft, but any avalanche you trigger at the surface could step down to weak layers at the ground. If you experience cracking, head to slopes sheltered from the wind or lower-angle slopes.

You can still trigger avalanches on buried weak layers. This is most likely on steep slopes with shallow snow coverage. Avoid slopes covered in trigger points like rocks, trees, and convex rolls. These increase your likelihood of triggering a deeper avalanche. Look for safer travel on slopes with over 2 meters of firm snow and no buried weak layer.