Northern San Juan

You can trigger an avalanche on steep slopes at upper elevations, where you find a cohesive slab of settled storm snow sitting on weaker snow below. Look for and avoid areas of freshly drifted snow below ridges and on convex rollovers. The most dangerous slopes face northwest through north to southeast.

Cracking and collapsing in surface snow is a sign of an unstable slope. If you observe this, avoid slopes steeper than about 35 degrees.  You can find safer riding conditions on lower-angle slopes protected from the wind.