Northern San Juan

Strong winds and now warm weather have made it harder to trigger avalanches. The remaining areas of concern are where wind-drifted snow forms stiff, cohesive slabs over a layer of weak snow. You're most likely to find this setup on steep slopes above treeline that face north, northeast, and east. Avoid steep slopes with hollow-sounding drifts of stiff snow.

Near-record warm temperatures are increasing the hazard of loose avalanches on sunny slopes later in the day. Start your adventure early and avoid being on or under sunny cliff bands later in the day. Take rollerballs as an early warning sign to move away from a sunny slope.