Steamboat & Flat Tops

You can trigger an avalanche in recent storm snow that breaks about a foot deep. Look for and avoid drifted pillows of recent snow directly below steep ridgelines and convex rollovers. Cracking in the new snow is a sign it is unstable and a signal to avoid steep slopes.

You can also trigger larger, more dangerous avalanches that break on weaker layers near the ground. Identifying these more dangerous slopes without digging into the snow is hard. Avoiding very steep, rocky slopes will help to reduce your risk of these avalanches.