Steamboat & Flat Tops

You can trigger an avalanche that breaks on a crust buried two to three feet deep. This issue won’t go away soon. Before triggering an avalanche, you may not see or hear signs of unstable snow like cracking or collapsing. To reduce your risk of getting caught in an avalanche, avoid steep slopes on northeast through east to south facing slopes at all elevations. The most dangerous slopes are where winds drift new snow into a cohesive slab that rests on top of this problematic structure.