Vail & Summit County

You can trigger an avalanche on most steep slopes. Atypical, intense easterly winds distributed the most recent snow onto many slopes, some with a weak, thin snow cover. Most of these thinner slopes face a westerly direction, but be suspect of any slope with a recently developed cohesive slab resting on weak snow. On deeper slopes, slides continue to break on weak layers buried two to three feet deep. Either way, if you trigger a slide, it could propagate widely and result in a large avalanche. Multiple people could ride a slope before triggering an avalanche. Avoid steep slopes with bulbous pillows of new snow and stick to slopes less than about 30 degrees as safer travel options.

Above-freezing temperatures and sunshine will warm the snow surface. If you see rollerballs, fan-like point releases, or punch through to your boot top, move to low-angle slopes, shaded slopes with cold snow, or simply call it a day.