sluff
9.7
A small mass of loose snow that slides down a slope
- noun
- /slʌf/
- Jargon
:
nieve suelta
- As the sun warmed the mountain, the sluff began to slide down, creating small curls of snow.
Examples
-
Regular small sloughs and slab avalanches prevent the build up of larger, more dangerous slabs.
-
The skier carefully avoided the patches of sluff that had formed on the slope after the snowfall.
-
During the winter hike, we noticed how the sluff could cause small slides that made the trail dangerous.
Synonyms
1
3.3
A large amount of snow that suddenly slides down a slope
is a small loose surface snow chunk that causes only a minor avalanche
How Big
Surface Forms
Etymology
Sluff comes from the same old word slough, which carried the idea of 'mud' or something that 'slides away'. A helpful image is a small loose pile of snow that breaks free and 'slides down' the slope, so sluff means a small snow slide or minor avalanche.