Southern San Juan

You can trigger a large and dangerous avalanche at all elevations on slopes facing west to northwest through southeast. On these slopes, cohesive slabs of snow rest on top of weak buried layers in the middle of the snowpack and at the ground. Shallow areas near exposed rocks, on the backside of steep rollovers, and below cliffs are common spots to impact deeper weak layers and trigger a large avalanche. Avoid slopes steeper than about 30 degrees with around a foot of new snow, and stick to lower-angled slopes without steep slopes overhead or specific southerly slopes for safer travel options.