Steamboat & Flat Tops

You can trigger an avalanche where you find rounded pillows of smooth, firm snow in steep terrain. These may crack and collapse as you approach them and can be large enough to bury you. You can find them below ridgelines, along gully walls, and below terrain and vegetation breaks. Sticking to areas sheltered from the wind with soft snow is a good way to reduce your hazard.

On February 20 and 22, backcountry snowboarders were caught and killed in avalanches in separate incidents. One west of the town of Silverton on a terrain feature locally known as The Nose. The other was near the summit of Berthoud Pass in a terrain feature locally known as The Fingers. In both fatal accidents, the avalanches broke several feet deep and spread wide across multiple terrain features. You can read the preliminary accident reports here and here.