Southern San Juan

Recent strong winds drifted snow into thick slabs on north through east to south-facing slopes at upper elevations. Wind-drifted slabs can break as avalanches or they can step down into deeper weak snow layers, and grow wider and run farther than you anticipate – resulting in a deadly avalanche. You can trigger an avalanche from a long distance away or below a slope if you find a thin spot in the snowpack such as near the margins of the slab or around rocky outcrops. You may not receive any warning signs like shooting cracks or audible collapses before the slope avalanches. Traveling in the backcountry requires cautious route-finding to avoid traveling across or underneath freshly drifted slopes. Lower-elevation slopes without steeper terrain overhead offer safer travel options.