Gunnison

Westerly winds drifted recently-fallen snow into a cohesive slab on the old snow surface. You can trigger an avalanche on steep slopes that have over a foot of new snow that has not bonded well to the old surface. Most avalanches will be small but they can grow large enough to bury you on steep, sustained slopes or where drifts are deeper.

You still might trigger a slide on deeper buried weak layers that are three to four feet down even in wind-sheltered areas. If you were to get caught in one of these avalanches it would likely be unsurvivable. Safer travel options always exist by sticking to slopes less than about 30 degrees without steep slopes above you.