Vail & Summit County

There are lots of places you can trigger a big avalanche. Intense westerly winds created drifts of snow about 3 feet deep or more on leeward slopes. You can trigger slides where you find these drifts on steep leeward slopes at upper elevations. You can also trigger slides at lower elevations where the storm snow rests on weak snow, especially on drifted, open slopes. Avalanches in the storm snow will likely be large enough to bury you on their own. Don't forget they can also be the trigger for avalanches that break on deeper weak layers and become nearly unsurvivable. Make conservative terrain choices and avoid traveling on or below slopes less than about 30 degrees.