The surface of fallen snow--its contours and texture--can tell the interested observer much about the forces that shaped it and about its stability and what it is likely to do. Will it be good for skiing or for packing as a snowball? Will it slide? Is it dangerous?

Secrets of the Snow is an overview of the easily visible aspects of snow in the alpine mountain landscape, serving as a companion volume to the author's Field Guide to Snow Crystals, which examines snow at the microscopic level. Describing visual snow features and textures arising from climate, wind-drift,...

The awesome beauty and majesty of glaciers, the world of ice which has shaped and reshaped large parts of the earth's surfaces, are presented here through more than 100 photographs and a closely integrated, informed text. Austin Post's series of aerial photographs of glaciers along the North Pacific Coast of North America and into the interior ranges of Alaska is supplemented with ground-based photographs from the Himalayas, Switzerland, Chile, and other parts of the world. The authors clearly explain the features illustrated. Their discussion of the effects of glaciers on the landscape,...