6.1.4 Snow profiles
The primary goal of measuring a snowpack in the context of avalanches is to assess the stability of the layers. The measurement of all of the layer qualities is called a snow profile.
The snow profile is created by recording the following characteristics for each layer:
- Degree of wetness
- Density and snow water equivalent
- Depth
- Hardness
- Snow grain size and type (including whether bonding exists)
- Temperature gradient
- Shear quality
We'll examine these characteristics in more detail on the following pages.