 Poster: A snowHead
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What is strugied snow? Seen this mentioned on the Cairngorm website.
I have an inkling that it's sort of heavy packed (refrozen?) snow patterned with shoe print sized holes of wind blown powder?
Can anyone enlighten me further?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sastrugi is the word used for the ridges/folds/ripples created on the surface of snow by the wind. Google sastrugi and you will find many explanations and photos.
Sastrugi goes well too with a cheese sauce 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I was curious, so I googled it as ccl suggested. Came across this site, I've just spent a happy few minutes exploring and learnt quite a bit I think...
http://www.fsavalanche.org/Encyclopedia/index.htm
Not really on topic, but thought I'd share. Seemed like some pretty good explanations to me. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Think I've a better idea what it is after googling Sastrugi, thanks ccl, and there was a photo up on Cairngorm's website.
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Cairngorm is the very place I first tasted sastrugi. That was following a face plant, so I mean that literally 
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All you need to know is that frozen sastrugi is almost certainly the worst snow condition you'll ever encounter! 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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stevomcd, agreed. Having to choose the least worst place to turn on them, usually when you are getting battered by wind, makes one nostalgic for crust and crud. 
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| Quote: |
| Sastrugi are various surface irregularities resulting from wind erosion, saltation of snow particles and deposition. Ranked by increasing size, these irregularities are known as ripples (~10 mm high), wind ridges, barchans and sastrugi (up to 1 meter high). Larger features are especially troublesome to skiers. Traveling on the irregular surface of sastrugi can be very tiring, and can risk breaking skis—ripples and waves are often undercut, the surface is hard and unforgiving with constant minor topographic changes between ridge and trough |
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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First experienced sastrugi at the top of Glencoe last about 2 weeks ago
Was not fun at all
Didn't help that the light was totally flat so you couldn't see it lol
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Pics? I can't really imagine it.
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| Quote: |
First experienced sastrugi at the top of Glencoe last about 2 weeks ago
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With me, it was on the descent after hiking to the summit of Cairngorm last season. There seems to be a Scottish theme emerging here.
I've also read about big sastrugi being a major problem for polar explorers - especially when dragging heavy sledges across it (them?).
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You know it makes sense.
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Definitely a Scottish theme emerging.
I was in Scotland the first time I heard the term and thought it was a reference to one of Mrs Baxter's famous soups!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A Scottish theme! Surely there's not enough wind in Scotland to produce proper sastrugi
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Unpronouncable & unskiable
(sure it used to have a T on the front, making it even more unpronouncable !)
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
miss(ed) the[ir] minky winky smiley
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^ & ^^ 
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FAQ
The first one is very reminiscent of the icing on my Mum's xmas cakes. After all the p*ss taking, it turns out she was right; "it's supposed to look like snow dear". 