Icy versus powdery snow: Do you prefer skiing in the East or West?

The western United States is known for its abundance of powdery snow, colossal mountains and spacious trails. Its ski resorts are one of the most defining aspects of the region, drawing in tourists from around the world.

However, the East Coast and Midwest of the U.S. also offer an array of ski resorts from as far south as North Carolina and ranging all the way up to Maine.

"On the East Coast with skiing, the history is a bit deeper because it’s been there longer. There are more people, and it developed earlier than skiing on the West Coast," Big Sky Ski Instructor Brenna Kelleher said.

While many skiers seek out the West as a destination spot for the sport, the East Coast also offers an experience rich in culture and history.

There are a number of differences between skiing on the two coasts.

Mountains on the West Coast tend to be much higher in elevation. Western mountains often soar over 5,000 feet; the tallest mountain is Breckenridge in Colorado at around 12,840 feet. Meanwhile, Eastern mountains tend to be between 1,000 and 4,000 feet, with the tallest mountain being Beech Mountain in North Carolina at 5,506 feet.

Therefore, Western slopes tend to be much longer and wider, according to Kelleher.

These high Western mountains promote a landscape full of beauty and spectacular views. One of the perks of going to a major Western resort is being in a mountain town surrounded by astounding scenery.

"When you go to Mammoth, California, and you get to the top of the gondola and get out, it’s beautiful. You’re looking at the Sierra Mountains, and that’s something you really don’t get on the East Coast," Kelleher said.

The snow conditions also vary depending on the region. While Western ski resorts are known for their powdery slopes, Eastern slopes are known for ice.

There are a number of climatic reasons for the differences in snow conditions on the coasts.

Even in the West, the snow conditions vary depending on the proximity to the Pacific Ocean.

Ski resorts on the West Coast, such as in Washington, Oregon and California, have much more moisture available in comparison to interior Western states like Utah and Colorado, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brian Wimer.

“Ski areas in these coastal states typically get more snow in winter than ski areas anywhere else in the country,” Wimer said.

There’s a Pacific storm track that increases in the winter. Frequent storms come across the Pacific and hit the West Coast. These storms repeatedly dump snow into the mountains, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck.

“In California and Nevada, the water content of the snow is about 12 percent. The water content gradually starts to lessen. It’s about 8.5 percent when it gets to Utah and about 7 percent by the time it gets to Colorado,” Wimer said.

The lower the water content, the drier the snow. Therefore, the snow is more powdery.

The water content of snow in the Northeast is about 8 percent, similar to the water content of snow in Utah and Colorado. However, the snow in the two regions exhibits various differences.

Despite the lower water content of snow in the Northeast, slopes in the Northeast are typically icier, according to Smerbeck.

“A big difference between the East and West is the elevation,” Wimer said. “In general, the Western ski resorts are located at higher elevations.”

The higher elevations on the West Coast result in numerous differences in climate. Temperatures on average are lower, and the humidity is lower, according to Wimer.

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Snowstorms are not as frequent on the East Coast; therefore, snow sits for longer. It gets old and hard.

Largely due to the higher relative humidity, snow that sits will absorb the moisture from the air. The water content of the snow will increase, and the snow will become icier.

Meanwhile, the snow in the West where the humidity is lower doesn’t absorb as much moisture from the air. Therefore, the snow stays dry, powdery and fluffy for a longer period of time, according to Smerback.

Another factor that plays a large role for the icier snow in the East is that resorts have more variability in temperature during most winters, Wimer said.

Therefore, rain and freezing rain are more common, especially outside the far northern locations.

These conditions may create a hard cover on the snow, known as a boilerplate.

Boilerplate conditions may also occur when extreme cold follows a day with above-freezing temperatures. This causes the snow pack to melt then freeze dangerously solid.

Temperature variations increase the likelihood of these dangerous boilerplate conditions.

“It is very rare for rain to fall in winter at the interior Western resorts, due to the higher elevations and lower temperatures,” Wimer said. “For this reason, snow tends to stay powdery longer.”

The lack of consistent snowfall at Eastern resorts leads to artificial snow use. These resorts depend much more heavily on artificial snow-making to help build a snow base to get through rain events and snow-free periods, according to Wimer.

“This artificial snow is definitely not powder,” Wimer said.

Some Eastern ski resorts benefit from lake-effect snow. This snow tends to have less moisture content and is more powdery than many other Eastern snowstorms. This especially occurs in western New York southward across western Pennsylvania, western Maryland and into West Virginia, according to Wimer.

"All of these areas tend to get more snowfall in a typical winter than areas in the East that are farther south and east, such as eastern Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina," Wimer said.

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