Steamboat & Flat Tops

Avalanche conditions are dangerous. You can easily trigger avalanches where you find more than a foot of new snow on steep slopes. Cracking in the new snow is a sign to avoid slopes greater than about 35 degrees. Where the wind creates deeper drifts on upper elevation easterly-facing slopes, avalanches will be bigger and easier to trigger. Some slides could step down to weak layers formed in December and grow even larger.

Warm temperatures and scattered clouds on Saturday mean you might be able to trigger avalanches in wet snow at lower elevations. If you see rollerballs or pinwheels coming off steep slopes, or if you're sinking up to your ankles in wet snow, you should avoid similar steep slopes.