Vail & Summit County

The most hazardous slopes face an easterly direction where you find rounded pillows of firm wind-drifted snow over weak layers buried one to two feet deep. It will be easy for you to trigger an avalanche in this newly drifted snow. If you trigger an avalanche at the surface, it will likely step down to a buried weak layer, resulting in a large, wide avalanche.  Multiple sets of tracks on a slope do not mean it is safe, and you could trigger an avalanche from below or at a distance. Be careful below treeline where you find a cohesive slab more than about eight inches thick. You can find safer riding on slopes sheltered from the wind without a slab or on lower-angle slopes.