piste bashing - / ˈpi:st ˈbæʃɪŋ / -
verb
Where snow is compressed to remove weaknesses such as depth hoar. Compacting snow removes some of the inherent instability in the snowpack by bonding successive layers and compressing weaknesses such as depth hoar. This can be achieved mechanically in the formation of pistes, often referred to as piste bashing, by successive riders on popular off-piste routes or by bootpack where multiple riders may deliberately walk over a slope to compress the snowpack.
\\ This line gets a piste bashing a few times a seaason which will most likely have stabilised the snowpack.
Also known as:
compaction
grooming