An avalanche involving the release of a serac or glacial ice.

Credit: British Mountaineering Council

Ice fall avalanches are often destructive events and can trigger subsequent snow avalanches or entrain large amounts of snow with them. Ice falls are generally infrequent and challenging to predict, so most accidents involve glacial travelers who get struck by natural failures.  Ice falls are most common in very steep or convex sections of glaciers where the ice is fragmented or overhung.   

Ice fall and powder cloud. Credit: Tis the Skison