|
Home |
Primary Surface: An indication that at least 70% of the slopes are covered with a particular type of snow.
Secondary Surface: The next most prevalent type of snow on the slopes.
New Snow: Snow that has fallen within the past 24 hours.
Powder: Cold, new loose powdery, fluffy or flaky snow.
Packed Powder: Loose powder snow compacted by mechanical apparatus or by skier traffic which leaves little air space between particles.
Loose Granular: Loose, sandlike grains of snow usually formed after powder snow thaws, refreezes and crystallizes. May also characterize surface conditions produced by mechanical conditioning of frozen granular or icy surfaces.
Wet Granular: Loose or frozen granular snow which has become wet and soft from a thaw or rainfall.
Frozen Granular: Wet or wet granular snow which has frozen forming a solid or crusty textured surface. It can return to loose granular after thawing or being worked by a grooming machine or from the effect of skier traffic.
Icy: May be created by freezing rain, by rain saturating the snow followed by a freeze, heavy skier traffic, or by ground water seeping into the snow base and freezing.
Wet Snow: Powder or packed powder snow that has become moist during a thaw or from rainfall, or snow that was moist, heavy and sticky as it fell and clings together when compacted.
Corn: Large granules, sometimes the size of corn kernels, formed by freeze-thaw cycles typical of spring.
Groomed: A surface which has been mechanically changed.
Variable Conditions: A variety of conditions which cannot be accurately described using the usual primary and secondary condition terms. When no single surface type covers at least 70% of skiing terrain, this term may be used.
Ober Gatlinburg ski reports also provide the number of slopes, trails and lifts open, temperatures and weather conditions and amount of machine-made snow and natural snow accumulated. Ski base is given in inches from an average minimum to an average maximum and can vary on some slopes.
Ski reports are posted and updated daily. Temperature and snow conditions are constantly changing due to weather and skier traffic. Please take these factors into consideration.
|
