Sierra cement

Heavy, wet, high-moisture snow characteristic of California's Sierra Nevada. Dense enough to build excellent base layers but exhausting to ski through. The opposite of <a href="https://rewilding.mx/word/champagne-powder/" class="word-autolink">champagne powder.

Etymology

American ski slang, probably mid-20th century. A term of resigned affection — Sierra skiers know what they have and joke about it.