Vail & Summit County

A Special Avalanche Advisory is in effect. Feet of recent snow and strong winds have formed thick cohesive slabs above an unusually shallow and weak snowpack. Avalanche conditions will remain dangerous through the weekend. Careful planning and conservative terrain selection is essential for safe travel in backcountry avalanche terrain.

You can easily trigger slides in areas of wind-drifted snow. The larger concern is that these slides are likely to step down into deeper, weaker layers. If you trigger a slide, it will grow large enough to bury a person. You can trigger a slide from below or at a distance.

You can find safer travel on slopes that have not been drifted by the wind and on slopes less than about 30 degrees that are not connected to steeper terrain.