Decisions should be based on avalanche bulletins, field observations and facts, and not on the good feeling of being out with friends on a blue sky day. Many backcountry travelers are goal-oriented. We should be prepared to turn around and come back when the snowpack is more stable. Turning around can be difficult if the trip has been planned weeks ago, or if group members traveled a long way to get to the trailhead. However, the snow slopes will still be there next weekend, and next winter.
Some accidents happen late in the day, especially when the weather is poor.
The snowpack continues to surprise even the most experienced people. We need a wide margin of safety so we can continue to enjoy the mountains, winter after winter. While route selection is often a subtle art learned over many years, accidents show that some backcountry users do not know or choose to ignore the basics of terrain evaluation. Some enter gullies or large slopes capable of producing size 3 avalanches when they are aware that the snow is unstable. Others select slopes which if they release can carry them over cliffs or into trees, rocks, gullies or crevasses.