Varieties of Snow and Snow Sliders

You’ve heard the cliches about Eskimos and the number of words for snow? Well, if there are hundreds of words for snow, there must be at least a dozen types of snow sliders.

We don’t get much powder here in the Midwest; much of the snow is put on the ground through snowmaking equipment. When snow does come down, it’s often quickly subjected to the grooming machines. It seems a crime against snowy goodness to tame powder into submission, and I’m not sure why ski areas do it. One reason is that many guests actually don’t like powder. Hard to believe, but true, some don’t. Another reason is that powder dumps are rare. So when the powder is inevitably chopped up and pushed around, it can end up in difficult-to-manage piles, so … might as well get it cleaned up right now.

Some of my favorite snow companions are skiers who actually seek out groomers, and find powder a challenge rather than a pleasure. Sometimes, then, I’m faced with the choice of being a “good citizen” and seeking out my preferred terrain.

At other times, like this recent trip, the choice doesn’t exist, since the groomers don’t exist. That means being in a strange position: I’m delighting in the fresh stuff, while my companions struggle through it.