ASPEN, Colo. (KDVR) — Two avalanches triggered Thursday have instigated calls from backcountry experts who want those about to trek into the high country’s remote tundra to also carry caution with them.

According to officials at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, a wet slab avalanche occurred naturally near Aspen on Thursday. This typically destructive type of avalanche occurs when the snowpack begins to weaken as the result of a steady flow of melted water.

These are less difficult to predict due to their relation to rising temperatures, so before heading out, consult the avalanche forecast for the area you are about to trek into.

The second avalanche recorded by CAIC on Thursday was detected down in the North San Juan zone in southern Colorado. Unlike the Aspen avalanche, this was triggered by a skier and additionally was classified as a persistent slab avalanche.

According to the CAIC, “Persistent Slab avalanches occur when the bond to a Persistent weak layer breaks, releasing a cohesive slab of snow to move down the slope.”

These happen more consistently off of the back of heavy drought, which Colorado and the rest of the American West are deeply in at the moment.

“Both of today’s avalanche problems are difficult to predict and manage. They require a wide safety buffer as you travel through terrain to handle the uncertainty,” CAIC said in a post to Facebook.

So before heading out, be smart and check the forecast for the weather, the likelihood of an avalanche and how you’d fare if your car ended up immobile along Interstate 70.