Steamboat & Flat Tops

The most dangerous areas are around Steamboat Lake and Hahns Peak. Here, the snowpack is much shallower than the rest of the Park Range, making it easier to impact the weak layers and trigger an avalanche.

You are unlikely to see signs of instability before you trigger a large avalanche. Observers have reported avalanches triggered from a distance, from below, and after multiple people have traveled on a slope. Thinner areas of the slope, close to rocks and small trees, are where you are most likely to trigger a slide. Reduce the chances of triggering an avalanche by choosing planar slopes with a consistently deep snowpack and slopes less than about 30 degrees steep.