Steamboat & Flat Tops

You could trigger an avalanche where you find more than about eight inches of drifted snow. Recent winds may distribute the recent snow into unusual locations. Treat any slopes with wind-textured snow as suspect. Use caution around any lens-shaped pillows of snow that commonly form near ridgelines, in gullies, or on the backside of steep rollovers. If you see cracking or recent avalanches within the new snow, it is time to move to lower-angled slopes.

Increasing temperatures and sunshine will warm the snow surface. If you see rollerballs, fan-like point releases, or punch through to your boot top, it is time to move to low-angled slopes with cold snow or call it a day. Even a small avalanche in consequential terrain could take you for a nasty ride.