Mountains
Black ice on rocks in the mountains is known as verglas (glaze ice), and is a great hazard for climbers and scramblers. Cold weather is common at high altitudes, and black ice quickly forms on rock surfaces. Loss of traction is as sudden and unexpected as on a pavement or road, but can be fatal if the rock is in an exposed position with a drop below. The ice-axe and crampons are of little use in such circumstances, a belay rope being the only protection which can prevent a fall.
Read more about this topic: Black Ice
Famous quotes containing the word mountains:
“Without mountains one wouldn’t see the plains.”
—Chinese proverb.
“In the mountains the shortest route is from peak to peak, but for that you must have long legs. Aphorisms should be peaks: and those to whom they are spoken should be big and tall of stature.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Here among the mountains the pinions of thought should be strong, and one should see the errors of men from a calmer height of love and wisdom.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)