Glossary

A form of snowpack test that involves isolating a 30 cm x 30 cm vertical column from a snow profile wall and applying a shearing force on a known weak layer. This is achieved by positioning a shovel blade at the back of the column (above the weak layer) and pulling with incrementally increasing intensity until a shear failure occurs at the weak layer. Its results give the observer a point observation of the shear strength of a known weak layer.