Steamboat & Flat Tops

The most likely place to trigger an avalanche is on an open, recently wind-drifted slope directly below ridgetop. Look for and avoid steep, leeward slopes with more than about 6 inches of drifted snow. Any avalanche has the potential to gouge down to deeper layers and grow larger. Strong westerly winds last week built thick slabs over collapsible weak layers within the snowpack on north, northeast, and east-facing slopes. Avoid slopes where you observed obvious signs of instability, like shooting cracks and sounds of the snowpack collapsing.