When cold, dry snow becomes wet for the first time, it almost always means wet sluffs (loose snow that fans outward as it descends).

Larger wet slab avalanches can happen when melt water percolates through a layered, winter snowpack for the first time especially after multiple days of warm temperatures combined with no refreeze at night.

Glide avalanches occur regularly in spring as the entire snowpack slides slowly on the ground like a glacier until they suddenly release into a full-depth avalanche. These occur periodically on steep rock slabs and occasionally on steep grassy slopes. Notorious glide avalanche locations include Stairs Gulch or the rock slabs in Broads Fork. Avoid crossing under any slopes with cracks to the ground in the snowpack. Remember, they come down randomly, even at night.

• Check your gear before every tour, and make sure each person has a working transceiver, shovel, and probe before entering avalanche terrain
• Only expose one person to a steep slope at a time
• Never travel above other people

Wind can rapidly load snow onto steep slopes, making those slopes more prone to avalanching. Avoid slopes greater than 30° in steepness if you see signs of wind-drifted snow, such as rounded and pillowy features, and shooting cracks. In some cases, wind-drifts can sound hollow like a drum.