Vail & Summit County

An Avalanche Watch is in effect for the Gore Range. New snow and strong winds will create very dangerous avalanche conditions starting Friday night and lasting through Monday. Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended during this time.

You can easily trigger an avalanche on Friday in the snow that falls overnight. Westerly winds will drift snow and make avalanches easier to trigger on leeward slopes. Avoid steep slopes where you find more than about ten inches of new snow. You can recognize drifted slopes by fresh cornice development and their pillow-like appearance. Slides in recently drifted snow can easily step down and grow larger and more dangerous. If you notice signs of instability like cracking in the new snow and audible collapses, then move to slopes less than about 30 degrees.