Northern San Juan

You can trigger an avalanche where you find firm slabs of recent snow resting above weak old snow. The most dangerous slopes are near and above treeline in wind-drifted areas where the slab of new snow may be thicker and more cohesive. Avoid traveling near common trigger points, such as convex rollovers, rocky outcrops, or the edges of slopes where the margins of a slab are the thinnest and easiest to trigger. Give yourself a wide buffer from suspect slopes because you could trigger an avalanche from a distance or below. You may not experience obvious signs of instability before triggering a dangerous avalanche.