Which are terrain trap examples?

• A. Slopes with uniform snow
• B. Open fields
• C. Gullies, trees, cliffs
• D. Forest clearings

Answer: (C)

Terrain traps are features that can turn a small avalanche into a serious burial by limiting your escape and concentrating debris. Gullies narrow terrain and can hold deep snow, creating a confined pocket where you’re more likely to be buried. Trees can act as obstacles that trap you between trunks or force you into denser debris, increasing burial depth and making rescue harder. Cliffs create a hard stop and an area where debris can pile up, again trapping a person in a confined space.

Slopes with uniform snow don’t have those constraining features, so they’re less prone to acting as traps. Open fields offer little or no confinement for the slide or for a person caught in it. Forest clearings are more exposed and wide open, which reduces the likelihood of the kind of confined debris buildup that characterizes terrain traps.