Grand Mesa

You can easily trigger a wet avalanche on most slopes at lower elevations. The most dangerous areas are steep, unsupported slopes with a dirty snow surface facing east through south to west. Here, you can easily trigger a loose avalanche in the wet, cohesionless snow that may trigger a larger more destructive slab avalanche that breaks on a buried crust anywhere from two to four feet deep. A clear indicator that the snow is becoming wet and unstable is if your feet or skis sink deeper than your ankles and if you can squeeze liquid water out of the snow.

To reduce your chances of triggering an avalanche start and end your day in the backcountry early and avoid traveling on or underneath steep slopes with a dirty snow surface appearance, particularly on sunny slopes. If you are traveling on a ridgeline give cornices an extra wide berth and avoid traveling underneath them.