Grand Mesa

You can trigger an avalanche on slopes with one to four-foot thick slabs resting on weak snow. The most dangerous slopes face northerly and easterly. A relatively small avalanche could break on one of the multiple weak layers in the middle of the snowpack, but many avalanches are stepping down into the weak, old snow near the ground. Shooting cracks and audible collapses are signs of instability, but they may not be present before you trigger a large avalanche.