Tuesday 1 March 2011

Seracs


Seracs are blocks or columns of ice formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier. They are often house-sized or larger, they are dangerous to mountaineers as they can topple at any second, which can result in serious damage or even death.
They usually look like a tall column of ice, which may have a pointed peak. They may stay up for a long time or it may collapse, depending on the weather conditions an altitude.
Seracs are found within an icefall, often in large numbers or on ice faces on the lower edge of a hanging glacier.
The word 'serac' comes from a Swiss name for a very dense, crumbly white cheese and from a distance, seracs can resembles giant blocks of cheese - at least to the imaginative eye.

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