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
Snow Mountain Wilderness Snow Mountain Wilderness The Snow Mountain Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area located north of Santa Rosa, California, USA in the Mendocino National Forest. The U.S. Congress passed the California Wilderness Act of 1984 which created 23 new wilderness areas including Snow Mountain. It lies within the North Coast Range of mountains. Elevations are from to . The wilderness covers the crest of this North Coast Range mountain divide for and the summit area includes two peaks, East (7,050 ft) and West (7,021 ft). On October 17, 2006 the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act was signed into