What is an Avalanche?

Avalanches come in all shapes, sizes and forms and similar to the snow crystals they are composed of, no two slides are exactly alike. They may contain dry snow, wet snow, ice, or sometimes a combination of these elements. They may contain loose snow, travel a short distance, and have little mass, or they may contain consolidated snow, travel down an entire mountain, and have considerable mass.

Regardless of their form, avalanches have one thing in common: when the stress exherted on the snow exceeds its strength, a failure is initiated, and an avalanche is formed (Fesler & Fredston, 1994).

A falling serac from the summit ridge of Mt. Hunter causes a dramatic powder blast across the East Fork Kahiltna Glacier.

Location: Denali Base Camp, Alaska Range

To keep things simple, avalanches can be broken into two main catagories: loose snow and slabs. For the purpose of this project, we are going to isolate slab avalanches, and investigate the involved mechanics when one is triggered.