Bill Jennings: “Corn snow” the most sought after prize for skiers

“In like a lion, out like a lamb,” is the ancient idiom used to describe March. This season, the month of March – named after Mars, the Roman god of war (Martius Mensis) – has responded true to form: a procession of unstable weather, a few bona fide storms and consistently blustery skies. Weeks in this pattern can become tiresome in the city. But in the mountains, the perfect foundation has been laid for classic spring skiing and riding.

About a week after the equinox, Old Man Winter apparently punched himself out with a right-left combination that left snow to a depth of a foot or more where it counts: at Inland Northwest ski areas. Mount Spokane won the sweepstakes over the weekend with a total of 15 inches.

The mountains are nicely fattened up for the home stretch. What’s more, blue skies and sunshine have emerged on cue and are expected to persist until the lifts stop turning. I’m looking forward to giving the season a fitting send off by ripping arcs through spring corn snow with a big grin on my face behind cheap sunglasses.

Next to powder, corn snow is the most sought after prize for skiers and riders. It’s smooth, responsive and fast. Corn snow is also equally as rare as powder, if not more so, because it exists so briefly during the course of a spring day.

A sequence of natural physical processes must happen in exact order for corn snow to form. Our recent snowfalls are beginning to melt during these sunny days. Meltwater seeps into the spaces between the crystals in the snowpack. This water refreezes overnight. All it takes is a few hours at 32 degrees or below to firm up the top layer of the snowpack into a frozen granular mass.

As the sunny days continue, the melting/refreezing cycle strips the snow crystals of their dendrites. Some melt completely and are assimilated by others, which grow into round pellets that resemble kernels of corn about 2 millimeters across. This “corn cycle” begins anew with each overnight freeze. According to snow experts, with the deep bases at our local hills, temperature bottoming out as high as 35-37 degrees could still be sufficient for the corn cycle to continue.

While nature does its part, humans must hold up their end of the bargain. Grooming is the other critical factor for premium spring corn. Mountain managers know that grooming snow before the surface refreezes sets the proper stage for corn. If slopes are groomed while the surface is refreezing or after it has frozen, the dry, loose granular corduroy could degrade quickly into slush upon exposure to the sun.

It’s time to change out the wax you’ve been using to get the most out of spring corn snow. The most popular spring wax is Swix CH10, a yellow wax formulated to slide in temperatures up to 50 degrees. If you can draw from a quiver, use skis with a softer flex and narrower waist that will track effortlessly as you tip them high on edge. Enjoy savoring nice, round turns. Draw out the pressure evenly from the tips to the tails until you feel the slingshot effect. That’s your prompt to change your edges into your next lovely arc.

One of the best things about spring skiing is that you don’t have to get up so early. Give the corduroy time to transition from boilerplate to velvet. Allow the moguls and off piste terrain to soften. But don’t wait too long. The window for premium spring corn is narrow. It opens and closes quickly.

Under blue sky intensified by the high contrast of blinding white snow, skiing spring corn feels like you’re frosting a cake. This sublime experience will last as long as those billions of kernels remain cold and mostly dry. It won’t be long until the early afternoon sun warms the snow to a point where water separates the individual grains, turning corn into slush.

Premium spring corn is fleeting. And so is ski season. As another one nears its end I’m reminded about how fast life goes by. Enjoy it – and the snow – while you can.