As the snow falls, it somehow builds out from the things it catches on. Here it has formed a ball well over 3 feet in diameter on top of a broken stub like a fence post.

To the right, for some comparison and contextual scale, is my backpack hung on top of my winter hiking staff. Also note that the pole is approximately seven and a half feet long, and I pushed it down until it touched ground. A bit over three feet was left above the snow to hang the backpack on. That is one reason why it is so long; by the time you reach down to dirt through the snow, there is only a waist-level bit left to use going up or down hills, or whatever else I'm using it for. I also use it for reaching ahead to give a light tap to snow-laden brush ahead of me, to knock the snow off before I walk under, upon which point it would otherwise just all fall on me. I can carry the stick about at the balance point, and easily reach forward about 2 steps ahead and jar the snow off before I get to it.
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