Vail & Summit County

Easterly-facing, wind-drifted slopes near ridgetop are the most dangerous slopes. This is where you can trigger a large avalanche in drifted snow. Shooting cracks are a sure sign of unstable snow. Avoid steep slopes where the snow feels more cohesive and harder than areas sheltered from the wind.

On Saturday, we received the first report of a large avalanche breaking near the ground in weeks. This was in the northern Gore Range on a northeast-facing near treeline slope. Nobody was caught or injured but this shows that, although unlikely, you can still trigger deeper and more dangerous avalanches. The only way to completely avoid these avalanches is to avoid steep slopes with weak layers near the ground.