Sawatch

You can trigger an avalanche that breaks up to three feet deep where cohesive slabs rest over very weak snow. The most dangerous slopes face easterly near and above treeline where strong winds are drifting snow. Wind-drifted terrain features can be identified by their smooth rounded and bulbous appearance. You can still trigger an avalanche in wind-sheltered terrain where more than two feet of snow has recently fallen, these slides will be smaller, but still dangerous. Cracking and collapsing are a sign to move to lower-angle terrain, but they may not be present before a deeper slide breaks. You can stay safer by sticking to terrain less than about 30 degrees and to lower elevation slopes that have less than about ten inches of recent snow.