Snow Reports PDR (powder): Cold, new, loose, fluffy, dry snow that has not
been compacted. This is usually the product of fresh, natural snowfall.
PP (packed powder): Powder snow, either natural or machine-made,
that has been packed down by skier traffic or grooming machines. The snow is no
longer fluffy, but it is not so extremely compacted that it is hard.
HP (hard pack): When natural or machine made snow becomes very
firmly packed. The snow has never melted and re-crystalized, but it's been tightly
compressed through grooming and continous wind exposure. You can plant a pole in
hard packed snow, but it takes more effort than packed powder. Unlike frozen
granular snow, hard packed snow is generally white in color.
LSGR (loose granular): This surface results after powder or
packed powder thaws, then refreezes and recrystalizes, or from an accumulation of sleet.
This is also created by machine grooming of frozen or icy snow.
FRGR (frozen granular): This is undoubtedly the most
misunderstood surface condition in ski reporting. Frozen granular is a hard surface
of old snow formed by granules freezing together after a rain or warm temperatures.
There are a wide range of frozen granular surfaces which offer different textures
and ease of turning. Frozen granular will support a ski pole stuck into the surface.
In contrast, ice will form chips and will not support the pole. It can return
to loose granular after proper machine grooming.
WETPS (wet packed snow): Natural or machine made snow that has
been previosly packed and becomes wet usually because of rainfall.
WETGS (wet granular): Loose or frozen granular snow which has
become wet after rainfall or high temperatures. This is typically an eazy to ski
surface that results from rainy days or a thaw.
WETSN (wet snow): Powder snow which has become moist due to a
thaw or rainfall, or snow which was moist, as it fell.
SC (spring conditions): (only allowed to be used from March 1st
on) This is the spring version of Variable Conditions. Like variable
conditions, this term is used when no surface can describe 70% of the terrain open for
skiing. It is no uncommon for other evidence of spring to be present such as bare
spots, a discolored surface from melting and traffic.
WBLN (windblown snow): A windy day can blow the surface snow,
either powder or granular, into drifts in some places, leaving a firmly packed base snow.
CORN: Corn snow, usually found in the spring, is characterized
by large, loose granules during the day which freeze together at night, and then loosen
again during the day.
ICY: Not to be confused with frozen granular, ice is a hard,
glazed surface created either by freezing, or by the rapid freezing of snow saturated with
water from rain or melting. It is important to note that, generally, frozen granular
is opaque whereas ice is translucent.
VC (variable conditions): When no primary surface (70% or more)
can be determined, variable conditions describes a range of surfaces that can be
encountered. It could mean that part of the trails are loose granular, part are
packed powder, part are frozen granular and some are wet granular.
MGS (machine groomed snow): Snow that has been repeatedly
groomed by power tillers so that the texture is halfway between loose granular &
packed powder. Some of the snow is granular & some of the snow has been so
pulverized that crystals are like fine powder sugar. It's neither loose granular nor
packed powder. This condition can occur after a warm freeze with multiple grooming
passes.
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