Grand Mesa

You can trigger an avalanche on most steep slopes that have more than 10 inches of new snow. The new snow is resting on a mostly weak and cohesionless snowpack so an avalanche in the fresh snow may gouge down into the old snow.

These slides can carry you into terrain hazards and bury you if the debris piles into a terrain trap such as a creek, gully, or the bottom of a road bank. If you see cracking in the new snow you should move to terrain less than about 30 degrees with no steep slopes above you.