The San Juan Mountains are an area very prone to avalanches. They are prone to avalanches for several reasons which include the weather. With the daytime sun, the cool nighttime temperatures and steep terrain, the Silverton area is highly prone to avalanches. The daytime heat causes the early season snow to become shallow and the low nighttime temperatures turn the shallow snow into "sugar snow." The "sugar snow" is a grainy snow that does not stick together and is not a strong base for other snow. Therefore, the area becomes highly avalanche prone due to the weak "sugar snow."
Each year, the snowpack is different, so you can never be positive whether or not you may get stuck in an avalanche. The people who are most often stuck in avalanches are those who are not familiar with the San Juan Mountains. Being a very skilled skier does not guarantee you will be very skilled when it comes to avalanche safety. If anyone is planning on going backcountry skiing, they must make sure to check the avalanche warnings and be aware of the high avalanche risks in the San Juan Mountains. No one can be sure that they will not get stuck in an avalanche, so they should definitely prepare for the worse when skiing in the highly avalanche prone, San Juan Mountains.
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