Northern San Juan

Above-average daytime temperatures mean wet surface snow at lower elevations. You could trigger an avalanche that slides on colder snow below. Loose avalanches could gouge into older snow and gain mass as they travel downhill. If you sink into wet snow above your boot tops, see small loose slides release from rocks, or start seeing snow glop onto your equipment it's time to retreat to north-facing terrain or lower-angle slopes.

Layers of stiff, wind-drifted snow cap weaker layers of snow at upper elevations. Although increasingly stubborn to trigger, you may trigger an avalanche in wind-drifted areas. You can find wind-drifted snow below ridgelines and in cross-loaded terrain features.