Sawatch

Northwest winds are drifting snow into cohesive, dangerous slabs, primarily on easterly and south-facing slopes above treeline. You can easily trigger a small avalanche in this newly drifted snow that might step down into deeper buried weak layers becoming a much larger and possibly deadly avalanche. Avoid wind-loaded slopes, often found on the lee sides of a ridgeline near the top of a slope or where the snow surface has a wave-like, rounded appearance and a hard, hollow feel when traveling across it. Safer travel options exist on wind-sheltered terrain below treeline.