Sangre de Cristo

You can trigger an avalanche large enough to bury you on slopes where recent wind-drifted snow forms a cohesive slab above a variety of weak layers. The most dangerous slopes face northerly or easterly directions, where weak early-season snow was able to persist on the ground. You can trigger a slide from the bottom of a slope, and avalanches which you trigger could break on weak layers near the ground, taking out the entire season's snowpack. Avoid areas where the snowpack is less than about four and a half feet deep, and retreat to less-steep slopes if you experience cracking or audible collapse. Slopes less than thirty degrees offer safer options.