snowbridge
Ice over crevasse
A snowbridge is a natural arch of compacted snow spanning a crevasse or gap in a glacier.
Snowbridges form when wind-blown snow accumulates across openings, creating deceptively solid-looking surfaces that may collapse under a climber's weight.
Glacier travel requires probing for hidden crevasses beneath snowbridges: The lead climber fell through a snowbridge but was caught by the rope.
crevasse
Deep glacial fissure
hidden · collapse · mountaineering · Alps · Himalayas · expedition · roped · probe · danger · spring
collapse
Sudden structural failure
probing · safety · risk · unstable · weakened · hollow · breakthrough · rescue · assessment · load
snowbridgefirm ground
Stable, unyielding surface
solid ground · bedrock · stable footing · terra firma · solid rock
snow, bridge, snows, snowed, snowing, snowy, snowier, snowiest, snowfall