Sangre de Cristo

Many slopes are safe from avalanches, except for near treeline, where winds drifted recent snow into thicker and stiffer slabs above older, weak snow. Here, the most dangerous slopes face north, northeast, and east. Above treeline, snow coverage is patchy and discontinuous due to strong winds, confining the avalanche hazard to cross-loaded and concave terrain. Below treeline, the snowpack is generally weak and cohesionless. Cracking and collapsing in the recent snow are signs of an unstable slope and a good indicator to move to slopes less than about 35 degrees steep.