The standard operating procedures (SOP) for the use of snow pickets were developed in maritime snow. The conditions created by continental snows differ greatly and require that the standards be evaluated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the SOP for the use of snow pickets as anchors and make recommendations for safer snow anchor systems that utilize snow pickets. We tested pickets in a variety of anchor systems according the SOP's written in the Freedom of the Hills text book by loading the system with a static force applied with a pulley configuration. The snow pack at each location was fully described as well as the amount of static load the system was able to support. We found that the standard picket placements were highly unsatisfactory, holding almost no load at all. This led us to test further modifications to the SOP that greatly increased the effectiveness of the anchor systems.
