8. Falling Through a Cornice

Cornices are large, often overhanging accumulations of snow on mountain ridges, usually on the leeward side of prevailing winds. To the untrained eye, these protuberances may look solid, safe, and are often indistinguishable from the rest of the snow on a ridge, saddle or mountainside. Many mountaineers – newbies and veterans alike – underestimate the dangers of cornices, or overestimate their staying power, only to have the cornice collapse, taking them with it.

Avoiding this hazard requires awareness of where cornices are likely to be and developing a strategy for dealing with one should you encounter it. The potential ‘fracture zone’ of a cornice is exactly where the tip of the inverted ‘V’ on the ridge is positioned beneath the snow. Anything on or to the leeward side of this is, essentially, the ‘death’ zone. First assess where you assume the point of the ‘V’ to be, then go a few steps lower to provide a buffer.