Vail & Summit County

New snow with variable wind on Friday won't increase the danger, but you can trigger a smaller slide where it drifts onto leeward slopes. These drifted spots will be scattered around as the winds shift. Don't let this new concern distract you from the fact that there are lots of places you can trigger a big avalanche.

An intense winter storm dropped 3 feet or more of snow in the past week. Westerly winds drifted this snow into slabs on many aspects and elevations, but upper-elevation easterly-facing slopes are the most dangerous. Avalanches breaking below the storm snow will be large enough to bury and kill you. A growing number of recent slides propagated around terrain features or stepped down to deeper weak layers, and became nearly unsurvivable. Multiple people can ride a slope before it slides and you may not get any warning signs beforehand.

Look for and avoid steep drifted slopes below ridges, in gullies, or behind convex rollovers. If you see cracks in front of you in the snow or hear audible collapses, avoid steep slopes. Make conservative terrain choices and avoid traveling on or below slopes steeper than about 30 degrees.