What is a snow bridge and how can you cross it?

New Delhi: Mercury is significantly slipping down and winter is gripping its hold over the hilly areas, covering them under a white blanket of snow. The continuous snowfall increases the layers of this white blanket, turning them into a strong ice slab and the first rays of the sun reflecting through this snow paint the sky a golden hue, giving an awe-inspiring view to the spectators. But the beauty turns into a beast when incessant snowfall covers roads and bridges, making life difficult for locals as well as visitors.

Often, the layers of snow fill the gaps between rocks and other unseen blanks, giving them the shape of bridges, which is well known as a snow bridge. Not necessarily in the glacier region While most people associate snow bridges with glacier travel, as common photographs showcase a climber crossing a sometimes narrow band of snow over a large crack in the glacier, it is crucial to know that the snow bridge can form anywhere, including on low-elevation hiking trails. The snow bridge is not the actual bridge but is formed over the unseen gaps due to multiple layers of ice sheets.

Often, such bridges are formed over water bodies like creeks, rivers, and alpine lakes. However, such bridges can also form over rock piles or dirt. Sometimes, a snow bridge may be visible, either as the bridge itself or as holes in the snow that showcase the gap in elevation between the ground and the snow level.

How can you find a snow bridge when you can’t see any evidence of it? Well, this can only be possible with attention and care. While embarking on a trek during the winter, you need to be more conscious of your surroundings. If your ears are able to hear running water but your eyes can’t see the sources, you need to be careful, as you may be near or on a snow bridge.

If you are able to see a small depression in the snow that appears to be falling in a line, this is another red flag that the snow is sinking more quickly than the surrounding area, which can point to a gap. It is also crucial to understand your surroundings. It is suggested to use maps or a GPS device for navigation.

How to cross a snow bridge? Well, if you find a snow bridge in your way, it is suggested not to cross through it. Find the safest way around it instead of taking a risk. In case you don’t have other options, turn around and come back later once conditions become favourable.

Do not forget to capture such spots and post a trip report so that others can be aware of the dangerous obstacle and opt for a different hike until it is safe. If you are roped up while on a glacier trek, establish a quick belay while each climber crosses it one at a time. Another way to cross a snow bridge is to test the potential of the bridge by poking at it with a hiking pole.

Also read the features of the bridge, such as whether the bridge is over rock gaps or over flowing water. What will be the result if you fall into the rock gap? If the bridge is over water, then check where the current leads. What would happen if you fell into it? Would you have trouble climbing back up the steep snowy walls? If you are bound by time or situation to cross a snow bridge, do it one person at a time, move quickly through it, and settle well beyond the danger area before the next person crosses.

.