Northern San Juan

Look for and avoid wind-drifted areas. You can identify potentially dangerous spots by looking for fresh cornices, smooth pillows of snow, a hard hollow-sounding snow surface, or cracking in the freshly drifted snow. Winds will be very strong at the ridgetops. With soft snow still available for transport, you will be able to trigger avalanches in the freshly drifted snow. You are most likely to find dangerous conditions on easterly-facing slopes in higher-elevation areas, but you may also find fresh drifts extending lower into avalanche paths. If you trigger an avalanche in the wind-drifted snow, it can step down to deeper buried weak layers resulting in an inescapable slide.

You can find safer riding in wind-sheltered areas.