Gunnison

Strong, variable, and unusual easterly winds created wind-drifted slabs on many exposed slopes at all elevations. Look for slabs in atypical areas like west-facing terrain, easterly-facing slopes below treeline, and on the lee side of most terrain features. These are places where you might trigger a slide. Avoiding drifted areas can help keep you safer.

The chance of triggering a very large avalanche on deeply buried weak layers is getting smaller and smaller. If you did trigger one, it would be from a shallow spot in the snowpack. These can be near buried rocks or on slopes that avalanched earlier this season and have been refilled. Minimize this risk by traveling where the snowpack is consistently deeper than around 6 feet.