For those of us living in snow country, these last few days have reminded us all of the need to protect ourselves from this great white element. Driving to work yesterday reminded us of this amusing (below), but sobering video taken in Bountiful, Utah, about the same time last year; within the space of just a few minutes there are several crashes, 360s, cars in yards, and other white-nuckle rides that occur on one short strip of residential road.

But for roofers and folks like us in the snow guard industry, the words “sliding snow” mean something quite different altogether… rather than cars sliding on roads, the term to us conveys snow gradually sliding over time on roof surfaces to form some pretty cool-looking, but dangerous and damaging sculptures like in the images below. When large build-ups occur without being managed by controlled snow guard or melting systems, massive avalanches can end up crashing down to destroy not just roof structures, but people, plants, vehicles, and other valuable property. If you are seeing any thing like the picture below, or the beginning of such with snow and ice forming over the edge of the eave, then installing snow guards could end up saving your life!