Question for Western US/Canada Skiers?

I define ice in terms of what it was while I was still competing: snow conditions on a course that has been subjected to days of competition to the point where you almost need a hacksaw to put an edge into it.

Anyone who has skied across the country will recognize that places on the East Coast have the market cornered on ice. I had a competition at Killington in back in the late 90's where I damn near killed myself on the giant ice mounds they were calling "moguls".

I've never skied East, but what I consider "icy" are those patches of snow that are packed so smooth (but not solid) that your skis slip out from under you when you don't expect it. So I would define "icy" as "smooth packed snow". You can cut an edge on it, but when it quickly changes from powder to icy or if there is an icy patch hidden under a new layer of powder, it can throw you for a loop. If the whole slope is that way you just have to use you edges a little harder.

I skied a few times with a girl who grew up in NJ. She said that most of the ski areas back east had that "smooth packed snow". She was amazed at how easy it was to ski in Colorado on her first trip.

Personally ice is the clear stuff you put in drinks, hard pack and boiler plate are very skiable surfaces, but you need to know how to properly edge. Powder is light snow that you can hold in your gloves and blow it away with a good hard breath. Anything in between is fresh snow to groomed runs to firm skiable surfaces. Even death cookies can be skied. It's the death wedding cakes that get to me. When an area says it's packed powder but the air temp has been at 33 for a week it's not powder to me.Good pow is at least 14" deep. Have fun Willie.

Ice is snow that is so packed that you cant easily depress it with your hand, hard to get an edge grip on. This is the opinion of a far east skier (Nova Scotia). Boilerplate is very hard ice, think skating rink.

I live in Kansas city, MO and there is one place too ski close by, Snow Creek, in weston, MO and the snow there is defined as skiing on "Ice" it is very compact and wet snow, unlike the light fluffy dry snow that you would consider "Powder"

Definitely a thin layer of hard and shiny over the snow, as Canada's climate varies, a warmness followed by a coldness will cause this layer on top, hard to grip on, yet fun.

It ain't ice if there aren't fish under it