Latest posts on skiing, snowboarding, and snow science
B is for Bomb Cyclone
From a meteorological perspective, a bomb cyclone really is the bomb.
A is for Albedo
Albedo is a measure of the fraction of solar energy that is reflected from a surface.
Graupel, a “supercooled” type of precipitation
Is it sleet? Hail? No, it’s graupel, a relatively obscure form of precipitation that resembles balls of Styrofoam.
Wolfpack: your posse on a powder day
A wolfpack is a group of friends, usually guys, who ski or ride together, similar to a posse.
No friends on a powder day
Forget the posse and ditch your bros: if it’s nuking and you want first tracks, you better remember there are no friends on powder days.
Face shot: powder nirvana and a staple of ski porn
What is a face shot? A face shot occurs when snow sprays a skier or snowboarder’s face on a powder day. The snow must be deep and light enough (e.g., blower, Champagne Powder®) and the rider must have sufficient speed to elevate the snow to face level. I took the shot above with a GoPro camera attached to the end of my ski pole. I was skiing the Mine Dump trail at Copper Mountain and found the tops of the moguls to be
