Vail & Summit County

Look for and avoid areas of drifted snow on steep slopes. Two pulses of intense snow with easterly winds increase the danger on Friday. Easterly winds mean you should look out for drifted snow in atypical places. You can easily trigger avalanches where you find more than about 10 inches of recently drifted snow. Be especially cautious on cross-loaded slopes with buried weak layers. Avalanches can step down to buried weak layers and break widely across terrain features.

The most avalanche-prone slopes are steep, open slopes below corniced ridges. You may also be able to trigger an avalanche by traveling on flat slopes beneath steep terrain or on low-angle slopes that are adjacent to and connected with steeper slopes. Careful planning and conservative terrain selection are essential.