Grand Mesa

The most dangerous slopes are steep slopes facing northwest through north to east. At lower elevations, you can easily trigger a dangerous slab avalanche once the weak snow buried 1 to 2 feet deep gets wet in the afternoon. At higher elevations, where the snow remains dry, you can trigger an avalanche on the same weak layer, only you might be able to travel across a slope several times before triggering the avalanche. The easiest way to reduce your chances of being caught in a possibly deadly avalanche is to avoid traveling on steep slopes facing these aspects of concern, especially in the afternoon.

You can also expect to see some small loose avalanche activity on sunny slopes. Most of these avalanches will be small, but combined with a terrain trap such as a cliff or a gully, they can be dangerous if they knock you over and drag you down the slope.