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Show 8 tension without avalanche release. In most cases the snow cover consolidates once more, with avalanches running on the ground only in favorable terrain. These avalanches are generally less harmful than those which unload the same release zone as dry surface avalanches. The ability of the snow cover to undergo deformation is surprisingly large. This is illustrated by the considerable differences of glide motion along a profile line without formation of cracks or folds. Relative shearing between adjacent profiles in the order of 1 mm per meter per day has often been observed. The shear stress operating downhill and parallel to the slope, and the vertical settlement, are caused by the weight of the snow. These deformations cause an originally vertical column in the snow cover to be shortened, tilted downhill, and bent into a curve ( the latter as a result of the ever- present, inhomogeneous snow accumulation). These deformations are called creep, and the axis of the deformed column the creep profile. We have sought to arrange the different creep profiles in three classes. We began with the theoretical treatments of Haefeli ( 6, 11) and Bucher ( 13) which in one case assumed a triangular form and in the other a parabolic form of the creep profile for their snow pressure calculations. In the case of the triangular profile the column remains straight. The parabolic profile we have designated as convex ( bulging downhill). We have observed the concave profile as the third type. Allowing for uncertainty of classification, there were 123 ( 100%) investigated profiles, of which 77( 63%) were concave, 32 ( 26%) straight, and 14 ( 11%) convex. In two cases at the inner edge of earthen terraces the profiles were found to be bowed uphill. Columns were frequently observed - this was |