Aspen

The most dangerous areas, where you are most likely to trigger an avalanche, are where the snowpack is generally less than about three or four feet deep. A layer of weak, cohesionless snow rests about halfway down the snowpack and it is easier for you to impact this layer and trigger an avalanche where it is shallow. You are more likely to encounter these shallow slopes below treeline, on the windward sides of ridgelines, and often in wind-sheltered slopes generally facing southerly and westerly directions. You still might be able to trigger an avalanche in the deeper areas if you find a shallow spot in the snow often near a rock outcrop, a band of trees, or near the bottom of a slope. You can reduce your chances of triggering an avalanche by sticking to smooth, planar slopes where the snow is consistently deeper than about five feet or staying on sunny slopes below treeline where there is a supportable crust preventing you from impacting the buried weak layers. If you are unfamiliar with the snow in your area or have any uneasy feelings when traveling through the backcountry, stick to slopes less than about 30 degrees steep without similarly steep slopes above you.