“Let the winter sun shine on / Let me feel the frost of dawn / Build my dreams on flakes of snow / Soon I’ll feel the chilling glow” — “Snowblind”, Black Sabbath
There’s a reason we “all hail Ullr”, the Norse god of snow. We don’t just want snow; we want powder. The soft, silent stuff that erases every imperfection and makes the mountain feel like a natural playground. While the early bird gets and eats the worm, it’s also a matter of reading conditions, preparing diligently, and riding accordingly. What’s more is you can still score the goods mid-day on if you literally slept (instead of crept on in those wee hours) getting up to your local before the hordes.
A Glossary of Conditions
Not all powder is created equal, and understanding the different kinds of snow is your first step to mastering the mountain.
Cold Smoke / Blower Pow / Japow: The holy grail. This is the light, dry, fluffy stuff that gets its name from how it blows up behind you, like a smoke trail. It’s what you find in places like Utah’s Wasatch, the Colorado Rockies, Canadian Interiors, or Japan, and it promises effortless floating and exhilaration.
Sierra Cement / Cascade Concrete: The exact opposite of cold smoke. This is dense, heavy, wet snow, common in California’s Sierra Nevada or the PNW’s Cascade Range. It’s beautiful to look at, but your legs will be burning by the end of the day. The storm set-up for this type of scenario is termed “Pineapple Express” (a warm, moisture-heavy atmospheric river).
Gear Insight: While a dedicated powder board might seem appropriate, the density of this snow often rewards a stiffer, all-mountain or freeride “daily-driver” deck. The structural integrity and power of a standard performance board are often better suited to cutting through the heavy snow compared to a highly rockered or surfy deck.
Chowder: This is what a powder day looks like after it’s been ridden for a few hours. It’s been tracked out, chopped up, and turned into a heavy, semi-packed consistency. It’s better than riding moguls, but your legs are going to get a serious workout.
Dust on Crust: A fresh, light layer of snow that falls on top of a firm crust or icy base and that usually can’t get broken through. This is a day for restraint. As much as that seemingly wind-built pocket appears perfect to throw a deep heelside turn … keep it light on the toes as it goes. Otherwise, your edges could washout.
Hot Pow: Late-season accumulation that starts to warm up as the day goes on. You have to get on it early enough, or it becomes heavy and clumpy—what can be called “cakey.”
Death Cookies / Chunder: Hard, sun-baked, frozen chunks of snow, often found after a warm day followed by a deep freeze. They offer zero forgiveness and can abruptly stop board nose or edge, making them a common hazard on off-piste or partially groomed runs.
Pre-Powder Day Prep
The work starts before the first flake even flies. A little prep can be the difference between a day of glory and a day of frustration.
Adjust Your Stance: Move your bindings placement back on your board. This shifts your weight to the tail, helping the nose of your board float more naturally and navigably through the deep snow.
Wax On: A fresh wax is critical. Scrape and buff your board to perfection to ensure you glide smoothly and don’t stick to the snow.
Dress for Success: Wear bibs or a jacket with a powder skirt. Zip up every vent and cinch down every cuff. If you have pant gators, engage them over your boots.
Fuel Up: A powder day is like a CrossFit clinic, so load up on water and snacks. You’ll need the energy to keep lapping.
Adaptive Visibility: Goggle Lens Tints for Flat Light and Glare
The selection of appropriate goggle lens color is crucial for visibility and safety, particularly when navigating dynamic snow conditions such as those encountered on a powder day. Effective lens choice hinges on the Visible Light Transmission (VLT) percentage, which determines how much light passes through the lens to the eye.
Active Powder (Flat Light Conditions): During active snowfall, light is diffused, leading to flat light where depth perception and contrast are severely reduced. To enhance visibility and spot subtle undulations or hidden hazards (like bumps or the edge of a trail), a high VLT lens (typically 35% VLT and above) is required.
Recommended Tints: Yellow, Rose, or High-Definition Amber.
Purpose: These colors filter out blue light, dramatically increasing contrast and making the snow surface textures pop.
Post-Storm (Bluebird/High Glare Conditions): If the powder day transitions to bright sunshine with fresh snow, the light intensity and reflectivity are extremely high. This requires maximum protection against intense glare.
Recommended Tints: Dark, Mirrored, or Chrome lenses.
Purpose: These are low VLT lenses (typically 6%–18% VLT) designed to block the majority of reflected light, preventing eye strain and sun damage from the intense reflection off the fresh white snow.
Quality Over Quantity: Don’t Bonk on a Powder Day
We all envision that one magical day—the perfect forecast, the deep dump, and a lift with no line. But if you’re not prepared, that dream can be dashed. You can bonk (tap out) after just a few runs, and nothing’s more frustrating than having the best conditions of the season and legs that feel like lead. There’s no replacement for active conditioning and preparing your body for the rigors of powder riding.
While you might not get dozens of epic powder days in a season, the few you do get will be far more rewarding if you’re ready for them. Without steady ramping up riding in all conditions, it will be tougher to handle when the gettin’s good. Your body needs to be a well-tuned instrument, ready to absorb bumps and power through the deep stuff. So don’t just wait for the perfect day; ride every damn day you can. The groomers, the slush, the bumps—they’re all your training ground, building the stamina you’ll need when the snow gets finally delivered.
Is a Quiver Board a Necessity?
A pure powder addiction requires a pure powder tool. While you can get by with an all-mountain board on a pow day, a dedicated quiver board turns a good day into a transcendental experience. A quiver board is purpose-built for deep snow, designed to provide maximum float and a surf-like feel.
These boards often feature a setback stance, a tapered shape (wider nose, narrower tail), and a softer flex that allows the nose to rise holistically above the snow. The magic is in the shape; a swallowtail, for instance, lets the snow flow through the tail, while a big, wide nose creates a rudder-like effect, keeping you afloat with minimal effort. It’s the difference between plowing through the ocean on a speedboat and surfing a perfect wave.
While it’s not a necessity for survival, a quiver board is absolutely essential for pleasure. It’s the right rig for the job, and for a true powder junkie, that job is chasing the feeling of weightlessness and flow.
Read: The Allure of the Quiver Board - Do You Really Need Any One of Those Specialized Shapes?
Mastering the Descent: Technique for the Deep Stuff
Once you’re on the mountain, it’s all about a change in approach.
Stay Loose: Bend your knees and use your legs as shock absorbers. The snow may buck you around, and you need to be able to roll with it.
Ride the Tail: Keep your weight back and ride the tail of your board to keep the nose up. This will prevent you from submarining and losing all your speed.
Look Ahead: Your body will follow your eyes. Instead of looking at your board, look ahead to set up your line and turns.
Know Your Terrain: Be vigilant and communicative with your friends. If you’re riding trees, keep it spacey, mind the gaps, and stay low and slow.
The Sierra Speed Club: A Feverish Pursuit
On a powder day, especially at a popular resort, there’s a certain unwritten law that takes hold. The moment the lifts open, it’s a full-on sprint. There’s a curious paradox to this frenzy. In the feverish fervor to bag a few runs where you don’t cross anyone else’s track, you can diminish the very enjoyment you’re chasing. The experience becomes less about savoring the moment—the weightless float, the silent turns—and more about a stressful, high-speed competition. The joy of a perfect, untracked line is real, but the frenetic race to get it can take away from the meditative, beautiful nature of powder riding. It’s a moment of reflection: are you riding for the pleasure of the turn, or just to say you were first?
Save your entry into the Sierra Speed Club for another day. (You don’t have to be in California to be a member.)
The Unseen Dangers: A Word on Safety
A fresh blanket of powder can hide a host of dangers, turning a day of revelry into a terrifying one if you’re not careful.
Early Season Treachery: This is particularly true in ungroomed or off-piste terrain. A classic mistake for the over-eager is to get too excited about early season storms. In places like the Wasatch and Rockies, where the snow is typically light and dry, it’s not uncommon to get a foot or two of fresh or more on a very thin base. That’s a recipe for disaster.
Hidden Obstacles: Beneath that beautiful, fluffy layer of snow lie the ghosts of the mountain—rocks, stumps, fallen logs, and other debris. These can grab your edge, stop you dead in your tracks, or send you flying head over heels. Always assume there are hidden dangers, especially in the early season, and ride with a sense of caution and control.
Tree Wells: These are a real and present danger. They’re deep, hidden voids that form around the bases of trees, and falling into one can lead to suffocation. Maintain a safe distance from tree bases, especially in deep, untracked snow.
Ropes and Closures: If an area is roped off, it’s ill-advised to enter. These boundaries are not arbitrary; they are put in place by resort patrol for a reason. They can indicate dangerous conditions, avalanche risk, or a lack of snow coverage. Ignoring them is not only a major safety risk, but it can also get your pass pulled. Respect the rope.
Avalanche Terrain: On a powder day, the backcountry is an obvious temptation. But with that temptation comes the highest risk: slides. An avalanche is a terrifying force of nature, and an untracked line is never worth the risk of being caught in one. If you are venturing into the backcountry, you must be equipped with a beacon, shovel, and probe, and you must have had proper avalanche training. Resources like Know Before You Go is a great place to start. There are no shortcuts to safety.
The Art of the Side Hit
You don’t need a neatly manicured park to get air. The magic of resort riding, especially on a powder day, is found in the natural terrain. A side hit is any organic feature on the side of a run, such as a snowbank, a mogul, or a cat track roll-over. They’re an open invitation to turn the entire mountain into your skatepark.
Seek and Enjoy: While the groomers might be busy, the side hits are often ignored. They can hold small pockets of untracked snow long after the main runs are chopped up.
Keep Your Eyes Peeled: As you cruise down a run, scan the edges for small banks and bumps.
A Simple Pop: When you find one, a simple ollie or nollie can send you soaring. Don’t overthink it. Just use the feature as a natural launchpad.
Carve into It: For a banked turn or a banked hit, use a hard carve to set your line and maintain momentum. This will allow you to hit the feature with speed and a solid base.
The Landing Zone: Always check your landing. Make sure it’s clear of obstacles and other riders before you launch.
Watch: Side Hits Euphoria - Chapter One
Hooting and Hollering: The Sounds of Stoke
There’s a sound that cuts through the silence on an epic day that every rider understands: the unmistakable whoop of a hoot or a holler. It’s a primal scream of joy, a guttural celebration of a fresh line, a perfectly landed trick, or the sheer bliss of floating through freshies.
It’s not just noise; it’s a form of pure communication. A hoot from a friend in the trees is a beacon, a signal that they’ve found the good stuff. Before sending it into a fun and fine line, a famed Mt. Shasta local named Bill Buffalo would drop into backcountry runs with his own unique rally cry of: “Tallyho tallywhackers!” A “yewww!” from a rider below is an audible high-five, a shared moment of elation. It’s an accepted and encouraged part of the culture, a way to express the inexpressible feeling of an incredible moment on the hill.
In a sport where so much of the experience is solitary, claiming when you just copped is what brings the community together, one shared wave of happiness at a time. It’s the sound of a great day, and you’re not just allowed to do it—you’re expected to. So, if you find yourself amid a waist-deep wonderland, don’t hold back. Let it rip. Queue airhorn: “WAAAHHH! WAAAHHH! WAAAHHH!””
Read: California’s Mt. Shasta Ski [& Snowboard] Park - Misty Mountain Hops, Pops, and Drops at This Hidden Gem of a Spot
Watch: The hottest f@#king thing a guy can do …
The Glorious Frother
Every resort has their resident requisites. Often channeling the legendary and stony hilarity of the “Pitted, So Pitted” mindset … the Frother is the rider who’s always, well, uhh, frothy, rabid, foaming. They’re totally hyped-up on snow balls, “stoked — so stoked”, like “YEWWW!”
While a local might stand at the top of a run, keenly contemplative, quietly immersed in the environment, centered in a meditative state of shred … the Frother is over-the-top, already halfway down, their enthusiasm is goofy but genuine, a powerful reminder that snowboarding is meant to be fun. They find the good in every day, and in doing so, they remind us to be grateful for the simple act of being on the mountain.
Baldface Lodge: A Cat-Skiing Mecca
For the dedicated powder seeker, there’s no place more legendary than Baldface, located in the heart of British Columbia’s Selkirk Mountains. Baldface isn’t a resort; it’s an all-inclusive, cat-skiing operation that provides access to thousands of acres of pristine, untracked terrain. Instead of a chairlift, you get a snowcat, carrying a small, intimate group of riders deep into the backcountry.
The experience is a pure form of powder hunting. You spend your days with the same crew of riders and guides, forging bonds through shared turns and challenges. The lodge itself is a sanctuary, a place where you can trade stories with your new friends and good friends and unwind after a day of bottomless snow. It’s a premium experience, but for those who are truly addicted to powder, it’s the ultimate pilgrimage.
When She Says She Doesn’t Like Powder
It’s the ultimate paradox: a foot of fresh snow, a line of stoke, and your partner—the person you share everything with—looks at the pristine white canvas and says, “I don’t like powder.” It’s not a personal affront; it’s just a common cry of frustration. For many, powder is a physical challenge, a battle against the resistance of the snow, the constant fear of getting stuck, or the lack of control.
If this happens, the first thing to remember is patience. A day of powder riding can be more physically demanding than a week of groomers. Start small and don’t take her to the deepest, most technical terrain. Look for a low-angle green run with a few inches of fresh snow and find an untouched patch on the side. The goal is to build confidence, not to conquer the mountain.
Patience is a Virtue: Remind her that it’s a new skill, not a natural talent. It took you time, and it will take her time, too.
The Right Tool: Consider renting a powder-specific board with a wider nose and a setback stance. The extra float will make a huge difference and turn the struggle into a feeling of just surfing.
Lead the Way: Go first, and ride a line with a clear path. Show her how to turn and flow with the snow, then wait for her at the bottom.
A Simple Fix: If she keeps getting stuck and her nose is sinking, have her lean back slightly and let the board do the work. A simple shift in weight can be a game-changer.
Focus on the Fun: Remind her that the most important thing is to have fun. If a few turns in powder are all you can get, then celebrate it. The perfect powder day is the one you share.
Leave Her at Home | Protect Your Day: On a truly massive blower day, if your partner isn’t built for the deep, ditch them—for their own sake, of course. It’s better to face the gentle “heat” of their displeasure after you’ve scored the best day of the season than to endure her mid-mountain lamenting and cursing the overwhelming conditions. Her fuming will drain all the stoke, and you’ll sacrifice precious vertical for relationship maintenance. The best part? After an all-day powder feast, you’ll be too tired, too blissed-out, and too satiated to argue, letting a simple, non-resistant apology flow naturally. [drops mic]
Finding the Hidden Stash
The best part of powder isn’t always the first run; it’s the hunt for what’s left.
Leftovers: After the morning rush, a powder day becomes a game of seek and enjoy. This is where you hunt for untouched stashes in the trees or in spots other people ignored. Think: “triangles”.
Side Piste: When the main runs are entirely tracked, look to the side—the untouched snow right along the edge of the groomers. It’s often ignored and can still be a blast to cut turns in.
Sugar Substitute: At the end of a cold day, the hardpack groomers get churned up into what feels like shaved ice. It’s a fun, forgiving surface to rip and grip, a perfect way to end your day.
The Final Word: RIDE POWDER … and lighten up!
In a world that’s increasingly tense, divisive, and argumentative, we could all learn a thing or two from a powder day. Out on the mountain, your mind is focused on the simple, joyous act of being present, the gift, in the moment, minute, and microcosm. The constant noise and angst of this modern world melt away, replaced by the quiet glide of a holistic turn. This feeling is the core of our philosophy, and it’s something we should carry with us off the slopes and into our daily lives. It’s a reminder to let go of the things that don’t really matter and focus on what does—not just on the hill, but everywhere. Connection, compassion, collaboration. We believe that true teamwork in making the dream work doesn’t come from more conflict, derision, but from more humility and receptivity to one another.
