There are a few things I’ve noticed about skiers in my time at ski resorts. One is that they are some of the most superstitious people I know when it comes to snowfall. They never want to “jinx” a forecast by talking about it too much.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that they come up with some of the most interesting slang words I’ve ever heard. (“Snotcicle” was one I heard more than once today. It means exactly what you think it does.)

But even more interesting words are tossed around to describe snow and skiing conditions. And this week’s weather provided a perfect opportunity to trot out some of those words.

We started out with some heavy snow, referred to as “glue”, “crud” and “mung”…but then temperatures plunged into the single digits, and by this morning, much more flattering terms were suddenly being tossed around as riders headed off trail and found surprisingly GOOD things to say.

“Freeze-dried fluff”….

“Re-constituted powder”…

“Crystallized snow 5” deep with a firm but forgiving base”…..

These terms are both vague and starkly specific. I knew exactly what they meant.  What was once heavy, wet snow, has now metamorphasized into something delightfully skiable…something far from the crustiness you would expect…something you can’t even make into a snowball and that strongly impersonates freshly fallen powder.

Naturally, there is a scientific term for this. (It’s called surface hoar and if you want to get specific about it, here is the Wikipedia description.)

Today, a lot of people called it a delightful surprise. But I just call it beautiful.

– April