Sawatch

The most dangerous slopes are where you find continuous, cohesive slabs of snow one to three feet thick on top of weak cohesionless snow underneath. This slab over weak layer combination is mostly located on wind-loaded terrain features near and above treeline but you might find this in wind-sheltered areas that got more than about two feet of snow from this and the last storm on west through north to southeast slopes. Safer travel options can be found by traveling on slopes that have less than about a foot of new snow on top of the weak, cohesionless snow. You can tell the difference between the new snow and the weak snow as you can make a snowball with the new snow and the weak layer will just fall through your fingers. Cracking and collapsing in the snow around your feet or machine is another sign that conditions may be dangerous where you are and you should avoid traveling on steep slopes.