190 WAITING IN THE WILDERNESS 



however, see a small, lively snowslide rush off a 

 big, steep barn roof, creating much excitement 

 among us boys who were making a snow elephant 

 a few feet away. 



Probably more slides move during March 

 than in any other month. Roughly, there are 

 three kinds of slides, or rather, three sets of 

 conditions that start slides. Slides that start 

 during or shortly after a snowfall from the steep 

 walls or slopes of canons commonly follow the 

 long-used channels made by streams or snow- 

 slides. These same channels may often be used 

 by the slide that takes all winter to form. A 

 part of each winter snowfall is drifted at the 

 top of a mountain and after weeks a large drift 

 results. There is a breaking up during the 

 spring thaw in March and the winter's accumu- 

 lation of snow slips and slides away. The third 

 type of slide comes down over rough places 

 where a slide has not before coasted. A slide of 

 this kind may be formed by a wind from an 

 unusual quarter drifting the snow heavily in a 

 place where snow does not ordinarily drift; or, 

 through several years' accumulation of snow and 

 ice, winter after winter the pile grows larger 

 and at last tips over, or its foundation through 

 much freezing and thawing gives way. 



Once a slide starts there seems to be no stop- 

 ping it. It usually goes straight for the bottom 



