Grand Mesa

You can trigger a dangerous avalanche on steep slopes that face west through north to southeast where slabs of snow around 2 or 3 feet thick rest on weak, cohesionless snow and weak crusts. On big, steep slopes these avalanches can grow large enough to bury you. On smaller slopes, like slope cuts above a snowmobile trail, avalanches will be smaller but can be dangerous if a terrain trap such as a creek, a cliff, or dense trees are below you. You can reduce your chances of being injured or worse in an avalanche by avoiding travel on large, steep slopes on aspects of concern and identifying and avoiding terrain traps if you are traveling on any slopes steeper than about 30 degrees.