Vail & Summit County

You can trigger a deadly avalanche on any slope with a buried weak layer. Riders continue to trigger avalanches from a distance and below. You are unlikely to get any warning signs like cracking and collapsing before you trigger a deadly slide. Slopes with shallower snow will be the easiest place to trigger slides, but slopes with thick drifts will produce the deadliest ones.

Be cautious when you find more than 8 inches of recent or wind-drifted snow that may crack beneath you. Small slides near the surface can easily trigger larger avalanches that break near the ground. To avoid this tricky mix, stick to slopes less than about 30 degrees that aren't connected to steep slopes above. Below treeline, wind-sheltered terrain offers safer travel too.