ETHOS .....new snow

[CalG]

This has puzzled me for over 45 years (47 to be exact)

What is it about "soft snow" or "new snow" or "deep, new,soft snow" that is more pleasurable, more attractive, more rewarding, than week old ice?

Is it the smoothness? The quiet movement through a fluid medium? The challenge and difficulty?
The FIS racers don't care a hoot about "soft new snow".

I know there are a large number of skiers that find such conditions to be "too much". But They are still out there! I see them in the lift lines on snowy mornings... ;-)

Thoughts?

ps, and how does "perfect corn" some how fit into the equation of appreciation?

 

[Dwight]

I'll let you know after I experience a few new inches tomorrow.

 

[CalG]

I need to return to "the WHITE ROOM".
That takes feet! cold air, and pitch to drive one through at a good velocity. ;-)

 

[François Pugh]

More like flying.

 

[Ogg]

It's low impact, it feels way smoother under your feet, if you fall it doesn't hurt(usually), the sensation is more like flying, you can ski steeper terrain more easily and face shots are fun.

 

[Yo Momma]

It's SEXY............ it's ALL about the sex.........

 

[Scruffy]

I’m starting to think you’re a troll
Seriously, you’ve been skiing for 47 years and this puzzles you?

 

[mdf]

It is a bit odd. There is something magical about it, even a thin coating. I will glide through the powder on the edges of flat ru runouts, returning to the packed track only when stopping is imminent.

 

[dbostedo]

Is it the smoothness?

For me, having only puzzled about it for a few seasons (I think I posted a similar question back on EpicSki) I think it is 80% the smoothness, 15% the 3D/plowing fun effect, and 5% knowing you made a track where no one else had been (visual/mental satisfaction).

But that could be completely wrong.

 

[Freaq]

A nice coating of fresh pow opens up lines. It can transform a line from 'think I can make 'em' to 'watch me bounce and blaze'.
Quiet as well as smooth.
Pow with some density plus fat, rockered skis make getting a bit of air such a hoot!
Nothin' like the floooooooommmp of blowing up a powder bump.
On the lift today a six year old told me the best thing about powder is that it's fun to fall in.
Checking out your line from across the valley is priceless.

 

[Bad Bob]

Resistance is futile. It is just euphoric, You are engulfed in a smooth quiet place, probably something to do with the womb.

Corn is another story, a precise skiing surface with a sense of humor.

 

[Josh Matta]

ummm your edges grip and dont slide....and there is much less impact from the snow. Corn snow is almost as good IMO in fact a good corn day is better than fluffly powder where you hit bottom.

 

[Dwight]

I'll let you know after I experience a few new inches tomorrow.

It's easier and just fun, since it doesn't happen often, in the Midwest.

 

[Slim]

I love the floating feeling. Love the vertical motion that turns skiing into a 3D motion. I love the spray of snow flying up. I. Love the look of a smooth whits blanket over the landschape

 

[CalG]

For me, having only puzzled about it for a few seasons (I think I posted a similar question back on EpicSki) I think it is 80% the smoothness, 15% the 3D/plowing fun effect, and 5% knowing you made a track where no one else had been (visual/mental satisfaction).

But that could be completely wrong.

Ahh! The "clean slate effect" ;-)

 

[JFB]

Brings to mind one of my favorite Louis Armstrong quotes: "If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know."

 

[Tom K.]

More like flying.

Yup, closest you can come to flying without actually flying.

And scarcity. Can't get it every day Face it, that's part of it.

And new terrain. We're in Sun Valley for a few days. Over 30 inches recently and cold, cloudy weather more than doubles the skiable terrain here. All the south facing slopes that are normally bare or close to it are currently skier playgrounds.

 

[karlo]

What is it about "soft snow" or "new snow" or "deep, new,soft snow" that is more pleasurable, more attractive, more rewarding, than week old ice?

As an Eastern skier, it’s the novelty.