Southern San Juan

Dangerous slabs of snow rest on top of a weak, problematic snowpack on slopes facing west through north to southeast. Natural avalanches that ran during the last storm are the largest slides observed so far this season. Triggering an avalanche that breaks in shallowly buried weak snow layers can provoke a deeper failure near the bottom of the snowpack, and will be a more dangerous avalanche. Shallow areas near exposed rocks, on the backside of steep rollovers, and below cliffs are common spots to impact deeper weak layers and trigger a larger slide. Avoid slopes steeper than about 30 degrees with around a foot of new snow, and stick to lower-angled slopes with nothing steep above you for safer travel options.