SnowWind
Powder
Everything we have written on powder.
6 articles
ArticlesWhat is Hokkaido snow like in November? Early-season ice crust and wet snow
Ice crust up top, wet snow below: 西西's first day of the season at Sapporo Kokusai, and JMA's view of this winter. Personal observation, not settled science.
Read →How do you ride powder on a snowboard? No brakes: speed and turn shape
In resort powder, swinging the tail to slow down only makes you slower. 西西's view: speed buys float, turn shape controls speed; powder boards share that logic.
Read →How do you read a Hokkaido snow forecast? 西西's pre-trip routine
How 西西 picks a resort: snow depth by resort first, then the snow-depth layer and precipitation forecast, then the resort's own updates. Plus what this misses.
Read →The Science of Powder (Part 3): From SLR to a dryness score — fact and inference
Furano City publishes a 0–100 dryness index and one anchor point. How we wired it into our model, and why the line between must be labelled inference.
Read →The Science of Powder (Part 2): Snow-liquid ratio, a dry-snow line you can measure
Snow-liquid ratio quantifies how airy a snowfall is. How it is calculated, how temperature drives it, and why forecast snowfall cannot give it to you.
Read →The Science of Powder (Part 1): Why Hokkaido snow behaves the way it does
Hokkaido snow will not hold a snowball. Part 1 traces it to the Sea of Japan, the winter monsoon and temperature — and why 30 cm is not always 30 cm.
Read →