In winter, the trails may be buried in snow, but we still have to consider our impact. “I think people forget that snow melts,” says Kelly Greene, a national ski patrol avalanche instructor in Colorado. According to Greene, winter trailheads, rest areas, and resort parking lots often turn into Leave No Trace disaster zones. “Things blow away faster on the snow because there’s no roots and rocks to get caught up on,” Greene adds. Take the Snowier RouteSnow-covered terrain often requires some route-finding, but as winter gives way to spring, melting snow turns trails into mud.