Southern San Juan

You can trigger an avalanche in steep terrain where you find about ten inches or more of new or wind-drifted snow. Use caution on upper-elevation slopes facing northwest through northeast to southeast where recent southwest winds have developed soft slabs of cohesive snow where you can more easily trigger an avalanche. If you see cracking in the new snow, retreat to lower elevation or more wind-sheltered terrain. You can stay safer today by sticking to slopes less than about thirty degrees steepness without steep terrain above.