What is a cornice break?

What is a cornice break?

A mass of snow deposited by the wind, often overhanging, and usually near a sharp terrain break such as a ridge. Cornices can break off unexpectedly and should be approached with caution. Cornice Fall Avalanches: Cornices have a very nasty habit of breaking farther back than you expect. …

What is the snow on top of a mountain called?

A snow cornice or simply cornice (from the Italian cornice meaning “ledge”) is an overhanging edge of snow on a ridge or the crest of a mountain and along the sides of gullies.

What is slab avalanche?

A slab avalanche occurs when the weak layer lies lower down in a snowpack. This layer is covered with other layers of compressed snow. When the avalanche is triggered, the weak layer breaks off, pulling all the layers on top of it down the slope. These layers tumble and fall in a giant block, or slab.

What is cornice in construction?

cornice, in architecture, the decorated projection at the top of a wall provided to protect the wall face or to ornament and finish the eaves. The term is used as well for any projecting element that crowns an architectural feature, such as a doorway.

What is a cornice on a roof?

Cornice is just a fancy word for the eaves detail at the edge of a building where the roof meets the walls, and on most houses, it includes the soffit and the fascia. With a crown-molding cornice, a decorative layer of crown molding is added to the fascia, and the roof extends to meet the upper corner of the crown.

What’s the difference between a valance and a cornice?

Curtain Valance vs. The primary difference between a curtain valance and a cornice is that valances are made out of drapery or fabric, while cornices are typically made out of wood. Valances also add a softer accent to a room.

What is exterior cornice?

Definition. Technically, a cornice can be defined as a “molded and projecting horizontal member that crowns an architectural composition.” That means that an interior cornice would reside on the inside of a building and an exterior cornice resides outside.

Why snow is white?

Light is scattered and bounces off the ice crystals in the snow. The reflected light includes all the colors, which, together, look white. And all the colors of light add up to white.

Why is there snow on Chimborazo?

Chimborazo has a permanent snow-line at 4,700 m (15,420 ft), has a thick ice cap and is lined with glaciers that reach a little farther down the slopes. However, a combination of global warming and the ash from eruptions of nearby Tungurahua has caused the glaciers to melt and retreat in recent years.

What was the worst avalanche in history?

On March 1, 1910, an avalanche killed 96 people in Wellington near Stevens Pass, making it the deadliest avalanche in U.S. history.

Do avalanches happen below 30 degrees?

Avalanches are possible on any slope steeper than 30 degrees and occur most frequently on slopes 35 to 50 degrees.

What happens if you go on top of a cornice?

A person or skier putting weight on top of a cornice can cause it to break off and collapse and causing a major fall, with no ground beneath, just snow or ice. In mountaineering the best practice is to avoid going onto the cornice by staying far enough back from the edge.

Can a cornice break off from a ridgeline?

Cornices can break off unexpectedly and should be approached with caution. Cornices are the fatal attraction of the mountains, their beauty matched only by their danger. Cornices are elegant, cantilevered snow structures formed by wind drifting snow onto the downwind side of an obstacle such as a ridgeline.

What kind of snow is on a cornice?

Cornice A mass of snow deposited by the wind, often overhanging, and usually near a sharp terrain break such as a ridge. Cornices can break off unexpectedly and should be approached with caution.

What do you mean by cornice fall avalanche?

Cornice. A mass of snow deposited by the wind, often overhanging, and usually near a sharp terrain break such as a ridge. Cornices can break off unexpectedly and should be approached with caution. Cornice Fall Avalanches: Cornices are the fatal attraction of the mountains, their beauty matched only by their danger.

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