Sawatch

You can trigger the largest and most dangerous avalanches on wind-drifted slopes, especially in areas just below ridgelines. In these spots, freshly drifted slabs rest on buried weak layers a few feet deep. These avalanches can catch you by surprise and break widely and in unexpected ways.

You can still find these buried weak layers in more wind-sheltered areas, but avalanches will be smaller. These weak layers can be difficult to identify, and it is sometimes hard to assess their strength, so if you feel uncomfortable making those assessments, stick to lower-angle terrain.