denser than névé, yet less dense and hard than glacial ice. Firn resembles caked sugar and is very resistant to shovelling. Its density generally ranges from to , and it can often be found underneath the snow that accumulates at the head of a glacier. The minimum altitude that firn accumulates on a glacier is called the firn limit, firn line or snowline. Movement There are four main mechanisms for movement of deposited snow: drifting of unsintered snow, avalanches of accumulated snow on steep slopes, snowmelt during thaw conditions, and the movement of glaciers after snow has persisted for multiple years and metamorphosed into glacier ice. Drifting When powdery snow drifts with the wind from the location where it originally fell, forming deposits with a depth of several meters in isolated locations. After attaching to hillsides, blown snow can evolve into a snow slab, which is an avalanche hazard on steep slopes. Avalanche An avalanche (also called a snowslide or snowslip) is a rapid flow of snow down a sloping surface. Avalanches are typically triggered in a starting zone from a mechanical failure in the snowpack (slab avalanche) when the forces on the snow exceed its strength but sometimes only with gradually widening (loose snow avalanche). After initiation, avalanches usually accelerate rapidly and grow in mass and volume as they entrain more snow. If the avalanche moves fast enough some of the snow may mix with the air forming a powder snow avalanche, which is a type of gravity current. They occur in three major mechanisms: Slab avalanches occur in snow that has been deposited, or redeposited by wind. They have the characteristic appearance of a block (slab) of snow cut out from its surroundings by fractures. These account for most back-country fatalities. Powder snow avalanches result from a deposition of fresh dry powder and generate a powder cloud, which overlies a dense avalanche. They can exceed speeds of , and masses of ; their flows can travel long distances along flat valley bottoms and even uphill for short distances. Wet snow avalanches are a low-velocity suspension of snow and water, with the flow confined to the surface of the pathway. The low speed of travel is due to the friction between the sliding surface of the pathway and the water saturated flow. Despite the low speed of travel (~), wet snow avalanches are capable of generating powerful destructive forces,