Gunnison

The most dangerous conditions are on easterly slopes below ridgetop where you can trigger the largest and widest avalanches. Westerly winds drifted recently-fallen snow and will continue to do so on Wednesday. An avalanche can break on slick old snow surface, or break deeper into buried weak layers in the upper snowpack. An avalanche in motion may gouge into buried weak layers, growing dramatically in size and power.

You still might trigger a slide on deeper buried weak layers that are three to four feet down even in wind-sheltered areas. If you were to get caught in one of these avalanches it would likely be unsurvivable. Safer travel options always exist by sticking to slopes less than about 30 degrees without steep slopes above you.