Southern San Juan

You can trigger a large and dangerous avalanche from the bottom of a slope or from a distance. Cohesive slabs of recent storm snow sit above weaker snow near the ground, creating dangerous avalanche conditions. You may be the 7th person to cross a slope before it avalanches. Do not rely upon obvious signs of instability such as cracking or collapsing, but instead, treat all steep slopes as suspect. Stick to terrain less tha about thirty degrees steepness far from steep slopes overhead.