Northern San Juan

You can trigger a dangerous avalanche from the bottom of slopes or a distance. Recent storm snows have settled into cohesive slabs resting on a weaker layer near the ground, creating dangerous avalanche conditions. You are more likely to trigger an avalanche in areas where the snowpack is thin, like convex roll-overs, rocky areas, and the edges of gullies. Do not rely upon obvious signs of instability such as cracking or collapsing to warn you of unstable snow, but instead, stick to slopes less than about 30 degrees far away from steep slopes overhead.