Southern San Juan

Snow and strong winds stacked dangerous slabs of snow onto a weak snowpack on northerly and east-facing slopes. Winds drifted the most snow above treeline and where an avalanche triggered could break wider across the slope and deeper than you expect. Avoid steeper terrain where you find about 8 inches of new or drifted snow, and steer clear of places that look filled-in or rounded below ridgelines, in gullies, and on the backside of steep rollovers. Cracking in the snow surface, rumbling collapses, or recent avalanche activity are indicators of which slopes to avoid.

Snow coverage below treeline is generally too thin to trigger a larger avalanche, but could result in an unforgiving ride over natural obstacles. Safest travel options exist on southerly-facing terrain or slopes less than about 30 degrees in steepness.