Sure it's snow but what kind is it?

by Murray Selleck

Snow is the lifeblood of Colorado. It is the surface of our winter playground and it is the source of our springtime and summer water. Without snow, Colorado itself (and lots of other western states) would be impossible!

All snow is good and there are all kinds of it. No matter how it falls, or floats, or gets blown from the sky we need every flake. However, just because all snow is good doesn’t mean all snow is easy. Some snow is difficult if not outright dangerous. Heavy wet spring snow is tough to shovel and when snow layers pile up on top of one another avalanches are a constant hazard, especially in Colorado.

The good news is more times than not snow is fun, beautiful, and inspiring. Fun with all its options to go out and play in it. Beautiful in the way it changes color when its surface reflects the light from our sunrises and sunsets. And inspiring in the way that your imagination can run with possibilities. Snowmen, snow caves, snow forts, igloos, and snow sculptures all show how creative and malleable snow can be.
 
Snow is not monolithic. There is not one kind of snow and it is constantly changing as it falls, as the wind blows, or as temperatures rise and fall. With those thoughts in mind here is a list of snow types, conditions, and a bit of winter time slang that you may encounter in Rocky Mountain National Park. What follows is our best attempt at naming all the different kinds of snow we could think of and a brief sentence on how to use it in a conversation.

The food group of defined snow:
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Corn snow is typically found in springtime after a few freeze/thaw cycles. Clear starry nights with bone cold temperatures followed by warm spring-like temperatures will form corn snow. Early in the morning the snow will be crusty hard but as the sun works its magic the crust layer loosens. It is this thin loose layer on top that is corn snow. It becomes easy to ski since it is so carvy and the firm crust underneath supports your weight so you won’t break through.
“We harvested that corn like it was nobody’s business!”
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Sugar snow is found deep within the snowpack often right at ground level. The earth gives off heat even in the dead of winter and the first few snowfalls of the season often transform into an incredibly weak, sugary layer that will not bond to itself or anything else for that matter. It may also be referred to as rotten snow due to its loose nature. You’ll sink right through it if you find a pocket of it close enough to the surface.
“This sugar snow ain’t sweet.” 

Chowder is a mixed bag of wet, clumpy, and really thick snow. Homemade chowder is good eating but chowder snow is nasty skiing. You have to show a great deal of determination to keep your skis going the direction you want them to. Skis tend to deflect off chowder snow sending you and your skis in different directions!
“This chowda sucks!” (Say it like you’re from Maine).

Mashed potatoes snow is similar to chowder in that both snow types are thick and heavy. The only good news is mashed potatoe snow is a bit more consistent but no less energy draining.
“Nothing but mashed potatoes and no gravy today.”

Butter snow is dreamy. Think of a hot knife slicing through butter in your kitchen. Then think of a pair of skis slicing through a layer of snow so easy all you can imagine is carving butter. As with skiing and French cooking butter is an essential ingredient.
“It was sooo good. It was butter!”
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Champagne snow is synonymous with the Steamboat Ski Resort. Champagne snow is some of the driest fluffiest snow on earth. Other definitions of this type of snow are listed below including blower. Snow so light all you have to do to clean your windshield is blow and viola, your done!
“Champagne don’t make me crazy.”

 The Soft Stuff:

Powder snow is the friendliest. Light and soft and the deeper the better. Easy to ski through, easy to break trail through whether on skis or snowshoes, easy to shovel, and easy to exaggerate its depth.
“36 inches easy. In places I bet the powder was up to here!” (Lift your hand up as far up as you can above your head).

Fluff is powder snow… so fluffy it almost doesn’t fall from the sky it is so light.

Blower snow is mentioned above with champagne snow. Blower snow can leave a snowy airborne contrail behind a skier as he or she is making turns. So light and blower it becomes airborne a second or third or fourth time!
“I sneezed and my windshield cleaned itself… it was blower.”

Der is short for powder.
“There's der in those woods!”

Freshies is slang for fresh snow that has fallen overnight.
“Freshies are the best!”
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Pow Pow is when you just can’t think of another description for powder snow.
"Nothing’s greater than rippin’ (making turns in) pow pow!”

The Tough Snow Conditions. Mean snow. Unforgiving snow:

Crud snow is just as it sounds. Cruddy, chopped, inconsistent, and windblown all together at once.
“I can’t ski this crud. I’m going home.”

Mank is another name for cruddy snow. Mank has a wetter and heavier element to it beyond just cruddy. Mank is thick and not funny snow.
“I can’t ski this mank. No joke. I’m going home.”

Sierra cement could be used for home construction right up until the sun shines. Before then sierra cement is the most humid, wet, and thick snow to fall from the sky. While the Sierra Mountains made this snow type infamous it can fall just about anywhere in the mountains if the conditions are right. Three feet of sierra cement could fall overnight and you would still only ski the top few inches of it because of how thick it is.
“This sierra cement is a poor man’s champagne.”
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Suncupped snow is amazing to look at and tough to ski tour or snowshoe over. Think of an empty egg carton… the side that holds the eggs. The deep depressions with curved upped peaks defines suncupped snow nicely. Suncups form in the spring and typically are found on large snowfields. They are a challenge to hike through or ski over since the uneven surface with potentially deep pockets and substantial ridges inhibit an easy stride or surface to balance on.
“Suncups suck but they’re amazing to look at.”

Snow on the Surface:

Hoarfrost are some of the most beautiful snow crystals to be seen. It is worth one's while to look at hoarfrost crystals closely. They occur in an intricate variety of forms. Some of the most beautiful hoarfrost appears like leaves of a fern or feathers from a bird. Hoarfrost can develop on the snowpack surface, tree branches, ski poles left outside, pretty much anywhere. It forms on the ground by direct condensation at temperatures below freezing. See photo above.
"A hoarfrost is beautiful to see but it is also the next weakest layer once new snow buries it."
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Crust forms after sunny warm days followed by freezing nights. Crusts are typically found on south facing slopes, or certainly, where the sun shines brightest including open meadows. Crust snow is very loud snow as you travel over it. If a strong enough crust forms that will support your weight it can be quite fun to ski. Nordic skate skiers will ski a backcountry crust for miles on end and have a blast. Timing is everything since once the day warms up your solid crust may become thick like a slushy.
“Nothing beats a great spring crust day.”
 
Breakable or Fry-able crust is a nasty crust. The crust layer may support you up to a moment, typically just as your confidence builds, only to have it give way underneath you. You may rasp your shin against the crust that remains as it rakes into your legs. It can hurt. It’s worse than snow snakes in powder because of the painful element to your lower legs. Once you have broken through a crust it is tough to regain your balance and get back on top because it will only giveaway again.
“This breakable crust is like the worst *&^#{!!  yuck I've ever tried to ski!”

Dust on crust is when a light snow has fallen overnight on a crusty snow layer. There really isn’t enough snow to make it carvable or to quiet the loud crunch underneath your skis or snowshoes. Dust on crust considered a why bother snow?
“Coma se coma saw… it’s just dust on crust.”
 
Windblown and Spindrift are just as the name suggests. Windblown snow races along the surface creating solid drifts and filling in snowshoe and ski trails until they completely disappear. Windblown snow and spindrift can hurt when it hits you in the face. Little stinging shards of icy snow will have you trying to moonwalk to keep your face out of the wind. On the other hand spindrift can beautiful as it catches sunlight and become tiny airborne rainbows.
1st skier - “This spindrift hurts my face!” 2nd skier - "Your face hurts my face, too!"
 
Bullet proof is similar to a crust snow only this snow is so hard it feels like it could stop a bullet. Bullet proof snow can be formed by freeze/thaw cycles or a hard wind or a long duration between snowstorms. It is so hard you can’t even kick step your way up a slope and climbing skins on your skis are borderline ineffective.
“Ice axes and crampons are the way to go when its bullet proof.”

Falling Snow:

Charlie Brown Snow. There is a scene in a Charlie Brown Christmas when Charlie and Linus and walking to the Christmas tree lot. Snow is falling so lightly you can practically count the snowflakes as they descend. This kind of snow falls with no trace of wind and falls gracefully, smoothly, slowly, magically.
“I love that scene in a Charlie Brown Christmas with the snow falling and a nice mellow jazzy riff as a background soundtrack."

Wind driven, stinging, white out, or blizzard snow can be horrible to be out in. These kind of snows are horizontal snow. It is blowing so hard the snow has zero chance of landing. Of course, it will accumulate somewhere and that will typically be in your ears, nose, eyes, against your back and legs pretty much everywhere you don’t want it to be.
1st person, “I can’t hear or see you!” 2nd person, “What did you say? I can’t even see you!”

Silver dollar snow are snowflakes that are as big or bigger than silver dollars. They’re huge. Typically silver dollar snow falls in the spring as remnants as a storm is on its way out.
“If I had a silver dollar for each of those flakes I could _____ (fill in the blank).”

Graupel is a kind of styrofoamy hail but it is softer than hail and never becomes as big as hail can become. I once had the pleasure of skiing in the backcountry down a slope with practically a foot of graupel. Very unusual to see that much accumulation but really fun to ski. Graupel is a mix of snow crystals and ice but softer and styrofoamy.
"I usually don't grovel about graupel but today I'll make an exception."
 
Snirt and Snain. Are these even real snowflakes? Snirt is snow mixed with dirt. In Colorado the dirty snow that falls can come from the Utah desert or even as far as the Gobi desert. The unfortunate fact about snirt is come springtime dirty snow melts faster than clean snow. Dirty snow can shorten the spring runoff time reducing the amount of moisture that soaks into the ground versus just running off downstream. Snain is snow mixed with rain. Talk about yuck. It is neither snow or rain it is just wet and miserable.
"Snirt, snain, burp, snort, poop... It kinda is all the same thing."

This sums up our snow effort. March can be a banner month for adding to our snowpack. Typically, it is a warmer month so the snow that falls is wetter and heavier. But as we said at the outset... All snow is good snow so the more snow the better. No matter what you call it!