sugar snow - / ʃʊgə snəʊ / -
noun
Sparkly and/or large grained snow crystals that frequently create a weak layer in the snowpack. Typically resulting from large temperature gradients within the snowpack and very noticable in snow pack analysis, these kinds of snow crystals frequently create a weak layer which has the potential to slide, creating a slab avalanche.
\\ We should check the snowpack for any sugar snow before we ride this line.
Also known as:
facets
faceted snow
depth hoar
kinetic snow
