Vail & Summit County

You can trigger a deadly avalanche on many slopes. You might trigger a small slide in recently drifted snow, but the bigger hazard is slides that break deeply into the snowpack. Obvious signs that you can trigger a deep, dangerous slide, like booming, rumbling collapses, are diminishing. Yet observers continue to report large avalanches, many triggered remotely and some releasing naturally. Cracking only in drifted snow is a signal you can trigger a slide. Avoid steep slopes where you see this sign; small slides close to the surface can trigger larger, deeper avalanches. You can find safer travel on low-angled slopes well away from steep terrain.