Glossary

Credit

Mark Bender

A shallow rocky start zone is an area of the snowpack where avalanches are more likely to be triggered. Areas where the snowpack is shallow and perforated by rocks are known to promote the formation of weak, faceted snow. Weak layers present in a shallow snowpack are also normally closer to the snow surface than in deeper snowpack areas. This places these layers closer to the triggering forces of a person or machine traveling on the snow above. Avalanches triggered in shallow snowpack areas often have fracture lines that propagate to deeper snowpack areas.

These areas should be avoided when traveling in avalanche terrain.