Vail & Summit County

You can trigger a slide from below or a distance. If you trigger a slide, it is likely to step down to weak layers buried 2 to 3 feet beneath the surface resulting in a very large avalanche. Do not expect to hear collapses as a warning sign of unstable snow. All north and east-facing aspects will be dangerous, but heavily wind-drifted slopes will be particularly deadly. Slopes below treeline are dangerous with a new slab created over a particularly weak snowpack. Pay attention to steep open slopes.

Now is a time for careful route finding and avoiding being on or under slopes steeper than 30 degrees on dangerous aspects.