Steamboat & Flat Tops

You can trigger a small avalanche where you find more than about 6 inches of drifted snow. Look for winds to increase and back to the west on Saturday.

The bigger hazard is triggering a slide that's big enough to bury you. If you find the wrong spot on a slope, like an area with uneven snow coverage and large rocks protruding from the snowpack, you can trigger a slide that breaks on buried weak layers. Small slides in drifted snow can also trigger larger avalanches.

To lower your risk of avalanches, choose slopes with a consistently deep snowpack and no terrain traps. New snow might obscure suspect slopes with many trigger points. Better to err on the side of caution this weekend. Look for sheltered slopes less than about 35 degrees. Avoid steep, drifted slopes below ridges and in gullies. Cracking in the snow and audible collapses are signs to avoid steep slopes.