Grand Mesa

You can trigger an avalanche that breaks on a layer of weak snow buried two to four feet below the snow surface. The most dangerous slopes are wind-loaded terrain features such as the lee side of a ridgeline, below a cornice, or anywhere you see a smooth, rounded, often wave-like surface texture on the snow. You might be able to travel on a slope several times before you affect the buried weak snow and trigger an avalanche so be aware that tracks on a slope don't mean that it is safe to travel on. Safer travel options exist by sticking to southerly or west-facing slopes.