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Article Excerpt
LEBANON, N.H., Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Following are the latest skiing conditions information as supplied by SnoCountry Mountain Reports as of Sunday, Dec 18 2005, 5:58:51 AM EST
SNOW CONDITION DEFINITIONS & TERMS
This glossary of terms is used by all ski areas when they report to SCR. The code allows for communication with skiers in a universal language.
NOTE: The standard abbreviations next to each definition reflect the way ski reports are communicated in print (newspapers).
New Snow: Natural snowfall which has fallen in the past 24 hours or continuously for more than one day. An average accumulation from summit to base is reported.
Average Base Depth: An average of the high and low amounts of snow over the entire ski area. Machine made and natural snow amounts are combined.
Primary Surface Condition: The type of snow condition which covers at least 70 percent of the terrain open to skiers.
Secondary Surface Condition: The next most prevalent snow conditions, covering at least 20% of the skiing terrain open to skiers.
Powder-PDR: Cold, new, loose, fluffy, flaky and dry snow which has not been compacted.
Packed Powder-PP: Powder snow, either natural or machine made, that has been packed down by skier traffic or grooming machines. The snow is no longer fluffy, but is not so extremely compacted that it is hard.
Hard Pack-HP: When natural or machine made snow becomes very firmly packed. The snow has never melted and re-crystallized, but it's been tightly compressed through grooming and continuous wind exposure. You can plant a pole in hard packed snow, but it takes more effort than packed powder.
Machine Groomed Snow-MGS: Loose granular snow that has been repeatedly groomed by power tillers so that the texture is halfway between LSGR & PP. Some of the snow is granular & has been so pulverized that the crystals are like powder sugar. It's neither LSGR or PP.
Wet Snow-WETSN: Powder or packed powder snow that has become moist due to a thaw or rainfall, or snow which was moist when it fell.
Wet packed Snow-WPS: Natural or machine made snow that has been previously packed and becomes wet usually because of rainfall.
Loose Granular-LSGR: This surface results after powder or packed powder thaws, then refreezes and recrystalizes, or from an accumulation of sleet. This is also created by machine grooming of frozen or icy snow.
Frozen Granular-FRGR: This is undoubtedly the most misunderstood surface condition in ski reporting. It is defined as a hard surface of old snow formed by granules freezing together after rain or warm temperatures. Frozen granular will support a ski pole stuck into its surface while ice will chip away and not support a pole.
Wet Granular-WETGR: Loose or frozen granular snow which becomes wet after rainfall or high temperatures.
Icy-ICE: Not to be confused with frozen granular, ice is a hard, glazed surface created either by freezing rain, ground water seeping up into the snow and freezing or by the rapid freezing of snow saturated with water from rain or melting. Ice will chip away and not support a ski pole when stuck into it.
Variable Conditions-VC: When no primary surface (70%) can be determined, variable conditions describe a range of surfaces that a skier may encounter. Parts of trails can be Loose Granular, partly Packed Powder, and parts Frozen Granular, for example.
Corn Snow-CORN: Usually found in the spring, Corn Snow is characterized by large, loose granules during the day, which freeze together at night, then warm up again and loosen during the day.
Spring Conditions-SC: This is the spring version of Variable Conditions. It is used when no one surface can describe 70% or more of the terrain open for skiers.
Windblown Snow-WBLN: Powder or granular snow which has been blown by wind into forming a base.
NORTHEAST CONNECTICUT Mohawk Mountain - Sat 3:50p loose granular machine groomed 30 - 42 base 16 trails, 70% open, 5 lifts Mt Southington - Sat 9:45p loose granular machine groomed 30 - 45 base 9 trails, 85% open, 4 lifts Powder Ridge - Fri 5:00p variable machine groomed 24 - 43 base 6 trails, 32% open, 3 lifts Ski Sundown - Sat 6:45p variable 45 - 65 base 15 trails, 100% open, 4 lifts Woodbury - Sat 7:25a packed powder machine groomed 20 - 40 base 13 trails, 87% open, 5 lifts MAINE Big Squaw - Plan to Open 12/23 Black Mountain - Plan to Open 12/26 Camden Snow Bowl - Plan to Open 12/22 Lost Valley - Plan to Open 12/22 Mt Abram - Sat 5:00p powder machine groomed 15 - 40 base 7 trails, 16% open, 4 lifts Mt Jefferson - Plan to Open TBA New Hermon - Sat 8:35p packed powder machine groomed 24 - 36 base 2 trails, 10% open, 1 lift Saddleback - Sat 8:00p packed powder machine groomed 8 - 30 base 7 trails, 13% open, 3 lifts Shawnee Peak - Sat 4:50p packed powder machine groomed 24 - 40 base 14 trails, 92 acres, 38% open, 3 lifts Dec 22: 15 trails, Sugarloaf/USA - Sat 2:48p packed powder machine groomed 14 - 32 base 47 trails, 21 miles, 241 acres, 36% open, 9 lifts Sunday River - Sat 3:20p packed powder machine groomed 24 - 40 base 64 trails, 24 miles, 310 acres, 50% open, 11 lifts MASSACHUSETTS Berkshire East - Sat 5:00p loose granular machine groomed 14 - 40 base 18 trails, 40% open, 4 lifts Blandford - Sat 3:45p loose granular machine groomed 6 - 24 base 3 trails, 30% open, 3 lifts Blue Hills - Sat 11:00p packed powder machine groomed 12 - 24 base 2 trails, 20% open, 3 lifts Bousquet - Sat 8:19a packed powder machine groomed 8 - 24 base 16 trails, 75% open, 4 lifts Bradford - Sat 7:30p loose granular machine groomed 5 - 18 base 10 trails, 80% open, 4 lifts Catamount - Sat 7:30a packed powder machine groomed 12 - 24 base 17 trails, 55% open, 4 lifts Jiminy Peak - Sat 5:00p packed powder machine groomed 16 - 50 base 27 trails, 10 miles, 118 acres, 70% open, 5 lifts Nashoba Valley - Sat 9:41a loose granular machine groomed 13 - 29 base 14 trails, 95% open, 4 lifts Otis Ridge - Sat 9:00p loose granular machine groomed 10 - 30 base 10 trails, 90% open, 2 lifts Pine Ridge - Sat 12:40p w packed powder machine groomed 7 - 10 base 7 trails, 100% open, 2 lifts Ski Butternut - Sat 6:10p packed powder machine groomed 15 - 28 base 13 trails, 8 miles, 55% open, 4 lifts Ski Ward Ski Area - Sat 8:08p packed powder machine groomed 36 - 48 base 5 trails, 85% open, 4 lifts Wachusett Mountain - Sat 8:20a loose granular machine groomed 18 - 30 base 17 trails, 77% open, 5 lifts NEW HAMPSHIRE Arrowhead - Sat 11:00p loose granular machine groomed 3 - 8 base 1 trail 7 acres, 1 lift Attitash - Sat 2:12p packed powder machine groomed 20 - 40 base 33 trails, 10 miles, 120 acres, 47% open, 6 lifts Balsams/Wilderness - Sat 5:00p packed powder machine groomed 18 - 24 base 6 trails, 5 miles, 30% open, 3 lifts Black Mountain - Plan to Open 12/18 Bretton Woods - Sat 4:15p packed powder machine groomed 15 - 40 base 39 trails, 15 miles, 210 acres, 49% open, 6 lifts Cannon Mountain - Sat 3:55p packed powder machine groomed 10 - 20 base 26 trails, 47% open, 5 lifts Cog Railway Ski Trains - Sat 3:52p powder machine groomed 24 - 60 base 2 trails, 1 mile , 12 acres, 100% open, 1 lift Cranmore - Sat 7:00a packed powder machine groomed 18 - 48 base 10 trails, 25% open, 4 lifts Crotched Mountain - Sat 5:45p loose granular machine groomed 22 - 38 base 17...
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