Sawatch

You can trigger a dangerous avalanche on any steep slope where you find a cohesive slab of snow resting on weak snow near the ground. Thursday, observers on the west side of Independence Pass reported rumbling collapses with long-running cracks near treeline where the snowpack depth was around three to five feet.

Recent northwesterly winds drifted new snow onto northeast, to east, through south-facing slopes making them the most dangerous. Near the treeline the slabs are thicker and avalanches can break dangerously deep. You can trigger an avalanche from below a slope and from a distance and they may break wider than you expect so give steep slopes of concern a wide margin. Seek out wind-sheltered slopes below treeline where the snowpack remains soft throughout.