Southern San Juan

You can trigger a large and dangerous avalanche where you find new snow forming a cohesive slab on most aspects and at all elevations. You’re most likely to trigger an avalanche in the new snow where you find 10 inches or more that has settled or been drifted by the wind into a slab. Look for signs of storm snow instabilities, such as small natural avalanches on steep roadbanks or cracking in the new snow. As the new snow load increases, so do your chances of triggering a larger and more dangerous avalanche that breaks deeper in the snowpack on old buried weak layers. This setup is especially dangerous on slopes that face the north half of the compass.