Northern San Juan

You can trigger a dangerous avalanche on many slopes where storm snows settled into a cohesive slab above weak layers buried in the middle and bottom of the snowpack. Slopes which face west though north to east, where early season snow was preserved as a cohesionless layer near the ground, are the most dangerous. Look for and avoid slopes with evidence of drifting from recent westerly and northerly winds, such as fresh cornice growth, smooth, pillowed features, or stiff surface snow. You can trigger avalanches from the bottom of slopes, so give steep terrain above you a wide berth, and retreat to less-steep slopes if you experience cracking or collapsing. Retreat if warm temperatures create wet or cohesionless conditions on below-treeline slopes. Southerly terrain and slopes less than about thirty degrees offer safer options.