Sangre de Cristo

The most dangerous slopes are where you find around a foot of drifted snow. Strong winds drifted recent snowfall into deeper slabs of snow on slopes that face north through east to south. Avoid traveling on slopes steeper than about 30 degrees beneath ridgelines, cornices, and gullies where you see evidence of drifting such as rounded pillows of snow or a hard, sculpted snow surface. Avalanches in wind drifted snow can trigger a more dangerous slide breaking into weak snow layers near the ground on slopes that face west through north to east. If you cannot carefully assess the snowpack, avoid traveling below bigger, steeper terrain or avalanche runouts. Wind-sheltered slopes lower in the terrain offer safer travel options.