sastrugi…….anybody know?

[ferniesnow]

A new word in the avalanche bulletin and here is the context: softslab, hardslab, and sastrugi are all present in open, lee terrain. I noticed in last night's bulletin that the alpine danger has been pegged at Considerable for Tuesday. That is a change from the Lows and Moderates we have had of late. Anybody with a great big vocabulary out there?

 

[underdog]

Zastruga - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[LBZ]

Not just in the mountains. I've seen that on the praries too. Never knew there was a special name for it though!!

 

[Shadam]

wind creating chalk like snow in expossed areas. normally firm, and easy-ish to walk on. sometimes it covers facets and can be problematic.

many words relating to snow are scanda-wegian.
here's a couple for you ...

firn ???

kettle ???

neve ???

did I spell them correctly?

 

[imdoo'n]

A new word in the avalanche bulletin and here is the context: softslab, hardslab, and sastrugi are all present in open, lee terrain. I noticed in last night's bulletin that the alpine danger has been pegged at Considerable for Tuesday. That is a change from the Lows and Moderates we have had of late. Anybody with a great big vocabulary out there?

this, from the man who invented dirt. well i can honestly say i have no idea fernie. seems like snow conditions seems to have a million terms.

 

[ferniesnow]

Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle…………my knowledge is lacking…

 

[imdoo'n]

now fernie if we could find the one who invented snow, maybe they could enlighten us? i think i heard the eskimos have a few thousand words describing snow? not sure if it was the far north variety or the ones from edmonton though!!!!

 

[kjb]

Windfuct,
You can actually read in it the prevailing winds which gives you an idea where the blown snow is loading or loaded into a slab.
The Inuit navigate all over the land and sea ice with little to no visibility by knowing their prevailing winds and reading the sastrugi.

 

[Shadam]

be very careful of one's pronounciation ...

windy-as-fuct ...

completely differnt word in scada-wegian ...

so dont talk about your mother like that again !!!

 

[Summiteer]

I thought it was a legendary creature from our neighbouring province to the east. A prairie samsquanch if you will.....Wouldn't expect to see it in the BC mountains though....

 

[ferniesnow]

Windfuct,

The Inuit navigate all over the land and sea ice with little to no visibility by knowing their prevailing winds and reading the sastrugi.

They doo well and did well for all their travels over that vast wild landscape. Although, over the centuries, many have never been heard from again due to falling through the ice, into crevices, or whatever.

I was with some elders on a school "on the land" trip and I think the sastrugi is what they built their igloos from. We had an igloo building afternoon and if my memory serves me right it was wind blown snow that formed in the lee that was the correct consistency for igloo building.