Steamboat & Flat Tops

Generally safe avalanche conditions exist due to a lack of snow. Most slopes do not have enough snow to produce an avalanche.

If you find firm, wind-drifted snow resting on old, weak snow on a steep, high-elevation slope below a ridge or in a shaded couloir or gully, you might be able to trigger a small avalanche. If you trigger a small avalanche in this wind-drifted snow, it will be relatively harmless unless it knocks you down and drags you over rocks or trees. Simply go around drifts of firm, continuous snow on steep slopes.