Vail & Summit County

Monday's winds drifted snow onto easterly-facing slopes above treeline. This additional drifted snow builds thicker slabs over weak layers buried in early March. You can trigger avalanches that break 1 to 3 feet deep; the largest on these drifted slopes. Any smaller avalanche you trigger can grow larger as it breaks on deeper, older layers.

It's tricky to assess snowpack stability right now. You'll need to evaluate the snow carefully to ensure that weak layers in the upper snowpack are not present. You will also need to probe to understand the snowpack depth as you don't want to travel on steep slopes that have previously avalanched. If this sounds complicated, you can always stick to lower-angle slopes or slopes with thick crusts buried underneath the new snow.