Snow cornice even being on the snow on top of rock exposes the alpinist to hazard in this situation. The best practice in mountaineering is to stay far enough back from the edge so as not to be able to see the drop, as an approximate metric of exposure. In avalanche safety, cornices are a high avalanche danger as they often break and trigger larger avalanches that permeate several snow layers. Cornices are particularly vulnerable to collapse during periods of solar warming. Snow cornice A snow cornice or simply cornice (from the Italian cornice meaning "ledge") is an overhanging edge of snow
Ahtanum Ridge Ahtanum Ridge Ahtanum Ridge is a long anticline mountain ridge in Yakima County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located just south of the city of Yakima, and much of its length is at the northern edge of the Yakama Indian Reservation. Ahtanum Ridge is part of the Yakima Fold Belt of east-tending long ridges formed by the folding of Miocene Columbia River basalt flows. Ahtanum Ridge separates Yakima Valley on the south from Ahtanum Valley on the north. At the eastern end of Ahtanum Ridge the Yakima River flows through Union Gap. The ridge continues east of