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Snow Yeti
29-01-2009, 05:23 PM
Check out this surface hoar !!!

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2129/132/53/690737550/n690737550_1821269_3112.jpg

Hmmm !
Xena
29-01-2009, 05:36 PM
Ummm....sorry for being stoopid, but what is a surface hoar?
BlueHue
29-01-2009, 05:40 PM
oh crap no backcountry for you Yeti!!!

From what little I know it would be that little thin little layer below the top layer of what I assume is the fresh snow that has fallen in Revelstoke over the last day or two.

Result = very unstable snowpack meaning avalanches galore.

Of course don't quote me on it as I could be totally wrong graemlins/cold.gif
Swede
29-01-2009, 05:40 PM
Originally posted by Xena.:
Ummm....sorry for being stoopid, but what is a surface hoar? Think it's a fancy word for frost?
skijacski
29-01-2009, 07:08 PM
Hoar frost usually occurs when too much moisture is in the air, it is like a frost but with more defined crystals shaped similar to snowflakes.

Some are huge.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2092/2139494998_85f5eb3aa9_m.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/2435520076_9880ebb337_m.jpg

Can't find a photo of the one I like the best.
Xena
29-01-2009, 11:16 PM
And waht is the significance of it? What does it do or cause?
Xena
29-01-2009, 11:19 PM
Googled it - so it seems that the thin layer in Yeti's picture is a layer of surface hoar which grows on the surface of snow. it is a particularly thin, fragile and persistent weak layer in the snowpack, which accounts for a number of avalanche deaths each season. Surface hoar accounts for most avalanche accidents.

So, there you go - I learnt something new.
Legolas
29-01-2009, 11:22 PM
yup, and if you'd read blue hues post, you'd have learnt it a lot sooner graemlins/outtahere.gif
Xena
29-01-2009, 11:23 PM
Smartypants!
whatajoke
30-01-2009, 08:57 PM
From what i understand Its like a rug on slippery floorboards? There is minimal friction between the top layer of snow and the main snowpack. Which means it will easily slide.

Or is that a different to a surface hoar?
BlueHue
01-02-2009, 12:15 AM
SJS's post describes hoar frost nicely. Surface hoar I'm guessing is what hoar frost is called when it forms on the surface of a snowpack so yes it is the same thing.

As noted, makes for a very unstable snowpack.
Xena
26-02-2009, 11:36 PM
All that is better than what it sounds like - a girl who dresses like a wh*re, but is actually a really nice, down to earth girl - just a surface wh*re, not a real one.

[ 26.02.2009, 10:38 PM: Message edited by: Xena. ]