# Eskimos may not have thirty words for snow, but skiiers do! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 21, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eskimos-may-not-have-thirty-words-for-snow-but-skiiers-do/270443 "2004-10-21T17:27:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eskimos-may-not-have-thirty-words-for-snow-but-skiiers-do/270443/1 "2004-10-21T17:27:12Z")
Over in the [There’s no word for it in English](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=282033&highlight=english) thread, someone brought up the old chestnut about how [the Eskimos have thirty words for snow](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_297). This meme has been pretty much debunked, but on reflection, I realized that we skiiers have at least thirty words or phrases to describe different kinds of snow. A partial list follows: **Avalanche** - a large mass of snow falling uncontrollably down a mountainside. **Black ice** - snow so dense, one can see clear through to the ground. **Boilerplate** - snow packed so densely it resembles ice. **Bottomless** - fresh powder so deep skiers need a snorkel to breathe. **Bulletproof** - snow so hard it can withstand a gunshot **Champagne** - super-light, fresh snow that makes skiers want to pop their corks. **Chowder** - broken, chunky powder whose lumpy consistency is reminiscent of a bowl of New England clam soup. **Corn** - loose kernels of snow, usually found during late spring; poor man’s powder. **Cornice** - an overhanging mass of snow good for jumping off and breaking one’s neck. **Corduroy** - barrel-groomed snow that creates a feeling reminiscent of skiing across Paul Bunyan’s pant leg. **Crud** - thick, broken snow especially dreaded by timid, thin-thighed skiers. **Crust** - a hard, icy layer of snow just brittle enough to give way, cutting skier’s shins as they trip and fall. **Death cookies** - nasty ice chips frozen to the snow surface, often left behind grooming machines. **Duff** - loose, light snow, heavier than fluff but lighter than mashed potatoes. **Dump** - a hefty, fresh snowfall, usually of a foot or more. **Dusting** - an immeasurable snowfall, resembling powdered sugar sprinkled on a cookie. **Fluff** - a.k.a. powder; fresh snow with consistency between champagne and chowder. **Flurry** - an all-too-brief, paltry snowfall; a teaser. **Hardpack** - resilient, aged snow, often found on overskied runs; may be called packed powder at Eastern ski areas. **Knee-deep** - fresh powder more than 6 inches but less than 2 feet deep; a sound often heard from excited powder toads. **Mashed potatoes** - wet, heavy snow so thick a shovel will stand up in it. **Mogul** - snowy bumps; what weak knees are made of. **Mush** - melting snow wetter and slushier than mashed potatoes, usually found in melting ruts. **Packed powder** - ski area term for anything but fresh snow. **Powder** - light, fresh-fallen snow with the fluffy consistency of lemon meringue; the stuff ski dreams are made of. **Sastrugi** - hard, wavy, wind- blown snow, resembling a whitened version of the Sahara Desert, described by Robert Falcon Scott during his expedition to the South Pole. **Sierra cement** - fresh fallen, heavy wet dumpage resulting when Pacific storms reach California’s Sierra Nevada. **Sleet** - airborne slush. **Slop** - melting spring snow intermingled with water puddles. **Slush** - watery snow, more suitable for a 7-Eleven Slurpy than a ski hill. **Untracked** - virgin snowfall not yet attacked by powderhounds. **White stuff** - colloquialism used by inarticulate TV weathermen. Feel free to add your own. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eskimos-may-not-have-thirty-words-for-snow-but-skiiers-do/270443/2 "2004-10-21T17:28:48Z")
Of course, us **skiers** use these terms, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eskimos-may-not-have-thirty-words-for-snow-but-skiiers-do/270443/3 "2004-10-21T18:17:36Z")
Snowboarders do too. I have a contribution: **Popcorn** : falling snow that is in big, fluffy pop-corn sized blobs ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eskimos-may-not-have-thirty-words-for-snow-but-skiiers-do/270443/4 "2004-10-21T18:19:38Z")
Grupple - Sort of between snow and hail. Sort of the consistancy of styrofome. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eskimos-may-not-have-thirty-words-for-snow-but-skiiers-do/270443/5 "2004-10-21T19:11:56Z")
**whiteout** : falling snow that is so thick and heavy, you can barely see past the tips of your skis. **hero snow** : snow that provides optimal conditions for skiing. Everyone on it feels like a hero. ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eskimos-may-not-have-thirty-words-for-snow-but-skiiers-do/270443/6 "2004-10-21T21:17:21Z")
Grapnel: Little round pellets of falling snow that looks like little tiny hailstones. My father may have made that up. &\*$%^#: Used to describe the dusting of snow that disguised the rocks that just tore an edge off your ski. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eskimos-may-not-have-thirty-words-for-snow-but-skiiers-do/270443/7 "2004-10-22T03:46:40Z")
Machine groomed powder (sooner or later, someone is going to sue for false advertising over this term). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eskimos-may-not-have-thirty-words-for-snow-but-skiiers-do/270443/8 "2004-10-22T04:05:23Z")
Hell, I have 30 words for snow. None of them are printable on a family message board, though. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eskimos-may-not-have-thirty-words-for-snow-but-skiiers-do/270443/9 "2004-10-22T12:31:21Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Hell, I have 30 words for snow. > None of them are printable on a family message board, though. Hey, just ask a mod to move us to the Pit! 😃