Powder

What almost every skier or snowboarder yearns for. It’s when fresh snow has fallen on a slope and hasn’t been ridden. A blank canvas unsuspectingly waiting for someone to come and slash it or carve it up. Unfortunately, powder doesn’t come in one size or shape. To give a taste of each type as well as the pros and cons, we’ll look at the differences based on snowpack.

Note: ANY mountain range could get the ones listed below. This is only what each snowpack region “normally” receives during a storm.

Continental

The driest of the dry. Like angel feathers. Even if it’s multiple feet deep, the snow is so dry that you literally ski through it. And that’s why you’ll see images of people riding with snorkels. Instead of bonding, the snow is literally thrown around like a pillow that has exploded. The con to this type of snow is two-fold. First, if it hasn’t snowed in weeks, instead of skiing or snowboarding over a firm base, there’s a chance you’ll be making turns on ice. Second, with a shallow snowpack, you could be hitting rocks, stumps, trees, or anything else without knowing.

Maritime

Depending on how cold the storm came in, the snow can feel heavy and brutish or creamy and floaty. What it lacks in dryness and ease of skiing, it more than makes up on how it fills in terrain. Literally shellacking mountainsides, the steepest terrain gets filled in quickly in the coastal mountains. If you do grab first chair, it’s the closest feeling you’ll have to surfing a mountain. Another advantage is if you see it, you can ski it without worrying about lurking monsters to grab your gear. The cons are pretty obvious. It’s heavy AND deep meaning that if you do fall, it’s gonna take a lot of work to climb out. Second, once it’s tracked out, you’ll feel as though you’re getting thrown around like a piece of clothing in a wash cycle. See “chunder” below.

Intermountain

This is what Kirkwood locals like to call “Cold Smoke” or in Utah “the greatest snow on Earth.” It has enough volume to where you float above the surface, but dry enough to where it’s easy to ski. Unfortunately, with it being an Intermountain region or micro-climate, many of these mountain ranges can get some days that are heavier. And it’s still more difficult to ski or snowboard than Continental powder.