Näiteks tarkvara Idrisi vahendiga toposhape on võimalik eristada 11 topograafilist vormi: tipp (peak), hari (ridge), sadul (saddle), tasandik (flat), jäärak (ravine), auk (pit), kumer nõlv ehk nina (convex hillside), saduljas nõlv (saddle hillside), ühtlane nõlv (slope hillside), nõgus nõlv ehk orvand (concave hillside) ja looklev nõlv (inflection hillside).
The start zone of an avalanche must be steep enough to allow snow to accelerate once set in motion, additionally convex slopes are less stable than concave slopes because of the disparity between the tensile strength of snow layers and their compressive strength.
