Steamboat & Flat Tops

You can trigger an avalanche large enough to bury you. The most likely place you can trigger an avalanche is on northerly and easterly-facing slopes just below ridgelines, although problematic areas can extend farther downslope. You might trigger a relatively small avalanche on weak layers buried by recently drifted snow, but triggering an avalanche that breaks into the weak, old snow near the ground is more likely. Signs of instability, like shooting cracks and audible collapses, may not be present before you trigger a large avalanche. You can trigger slides from a distance, so look for safer riding on slopes that are less than 30 degrees without steep slopes above.