Southern San Juan

Warming temperatures and ample sunshine will warm the most recent storm snow. Loose avalanche activity is most likely on steep, sunny, and rocky slopes, with the probability of natural and human-triggered avalanches increasing during the day. Most avalanches will remain small but could be dangerous if pushed into terrain traps like gullies, trees, or cliffs. Avoid steep slopes that show signs of warming in the form of rollerballs, pinwheels, or recent avalanche activity on similar slopes.

You could also trigger small avalanches in recently drifted snow on steep slopes. Avalanches in the new snow will test deeper buried weak layers and could step down, triggering a larger slide. Steep northerly and easterly slopes have been the most recent culprits for larger avalanches and avalanches triggered from a shallow area. To dodge this problem, avoid slopes steeper than 35 degrees altogether.