"The man behind the camera filming his friend triggering a massive cornice fall may have been chuckling but cornice safety is no laughing matter. Releasing an overhanging mass of snow formed by wind deposits (triggering a cornice fall) can lead to snow immersion suffocation (SIS) when the skier lands and trigger avalanches or simply entrain large amounts of loose snow along with the cornice debris which is also a dangerous scenario."
"Cornices grow through the winter on the leeward side of wind exposed ridges and summits. Cornices range from small wind lips of soft snow to overhangs of hard snow larger than a school bus. They can break off the terrain suddenly and unexpectedly and can sometimes be triggered from a distance. Overhung cornices can pull back further than expected onto a flat ridge top and catch people by surprise."
Overhanging cornices form from wind-deposited snow on leeward ridges and summits and can break off suddenly, sometimes from a distance. A cornice fall can bury a person, cause snow immersion suffocation, entrain loose snow and debris, trigger slab avalanches on slopes below, or carry people over cliffs and rocky terrain. Many incidents occur when skiers or snowboarders venture too far onto corniced ridgelines or expose others by standing near edges to film. Travel cautiously by giving cornices and unknown edges a wide berth, limit exposure to slopes below cornices, and avoid cornice edges during rapid warming or heavy wind loading.
Read at Unofficial Networks
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