A bit more corn wisdom. Corn snow is often mis-characterized by resorts and skiers lumping a lot of snow types into one bucket because the term corn snow is a positive one.
The difference between loose granular and corn snow is that loose granular is similar to corn snow grain size and pellet wise however corn snow grains metamorphosize as a mass sticking together more closely due to bipolar molecular water adhesion with less air space creating a more sliding friction when warmed up a bit that skis won't sink in much while loose granular grains are usually further apart with more air space, mostly unattached, with skis sinking in more. When warmed up, loose granular is likely to form mushy slush. Warming corn snow surfaces that have warmed up a bit go through an ideal stage before becoming too wet where the molecular water adhesion is limited allowing the grains to slide against each other without yet being too wet becoming mushy wet granular conditions. Loose granular is often found where snow groomers break up icy firm snow into small pieces and with piles of too frequently groomed man made snow.
Corn snow as noted requires a few days of a thaw-freeze-thaw cycle ideally with sunny day temperatures above about 40F and night temps below freezing enough or with enough snow base cold thermal mass long enough to freeze snow a few hours each night. Such conditions are not found as much about colder northerly far inland continental higher altitude resorts versus those with more moderate early spring weather. Nor at resorts that stay above freezing day and night or where rain and sleet fall on what was fresh snow or evolved corn snow. Generally Sierra Nevada and Southern Rockies resorts with sunny exposures have good weather conditions for corn snow at the usual end of ski resort seasons.
A better choice for a long run down a corn snow slope is where slopes have a consistent level angled topography facing the sun. In other words a slope that generally faces the sun but has smaller scale topographic undulations will have variable sun warming on its frozen corn granular state. The steep east facing Sierra Nevada between Bishop and Bridgeport has considerable ideal such topography during east rising sunny mornings for backcountry enthusiasts . Additionally much like fresh powder, skiing down smooth untracked corn slopes can be much better than those where resort skiers have already tracked a surface.
All this corn snow thinking has me pulling out my old Alpine Trekkers to see if they are set to fit in my current bindings and checking the glue on my skins. That time of year and this year given retirement and with no wildflower photo work in our droughty deserts, I have a whole lot of time.