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Serac

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Fox Glacier, New Zealand

A serac (/sɛˈrækˌˈsɛræk/) (from Swiss French sérac) is a block or column of glacial ice, often formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier. Commonly house-sized or larger, they are dangerous to mountaineers, since they may topple with little warning. Even when stabilized by persistent cold weather, they can be an impediment to glacier travel.

Seracs are found within an icefall, often in large numbers, or on ice faces on the lower edge of a hanging glacier.[1] Notable examples of the overhanging glacier edge type are well-known obstacles on some of the world's highest mountains, including K2 at "The Bottleneck" and Kanchenjunga on the border of India and Nepal. Significant seracs in the Alps are found on the northeast face of Piz Roseg, the north face of the Dent d'Hérens, and the north face of Lyskamm.

Incidents

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Post, Austin; Lachapelle, Edward R. (2000). Glacier Ice (Revised ed.). Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-97910-0.
  2. ^ "THE JAPANESE MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION, 1969-1970". HimalayanClub.org.
  3. ^ "Worst mountaineering disaster". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  4. ^ Perlez, Jane (August 5, 2008). "More Are Feared Dead Near K2's Harsh Summit". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
  5. ^ "Nepal rescuers retrieve bodies of nine climbers". channelnewsasia.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
  6. ^ Matt Murphy, Marmolada glacier collapse in Italy kills seven, BBC News, 4 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Marmolada, il bilancio definitivo: trovata l'undicesima vittima". Rai News. 9 July 2022.
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  • Media related to Seracs at Wikimedia Commons
  • The dictionary definition of serac at Wiktionary