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The key to the best powder is in the ratio between the water and snow.  Snow is actually precipitation in the form of ice crystals. Due to the molecular structure of water, these ice crystals form hexagonal prisms, and take on one of the following forms when they fall from the sky:

• Snow crystals- individual, single ice crystals
• Snowflakes- a clumping of as many as 100 snow crystals
•  Rime- Super cooled tiny water droplets (typically in a fog)
• Graupel- Loose collection of rime, often referred to as “soft hail”
• Hail- large, sometimes golf ball, or bigger, sold chunks of ice    
   

(Should be a video above… if not visit http://lfrus.com/content/science-powder for the full post.)

The chemical composition of a snowflake consists of one atom of Oxygen and two atoms of Hydrogen or H20. When water vapor condenses directly into ice in clouds, snow crystals form. When this water freezes into ice, the water molecules stack together to form a regular crystalline lattice, and the ice lattice has six-fold symmetry.  

It is this hexagonal crystal symmetry that ultimately determines the six-fold symmetry of snow crystals. From there, depending on temperature and humidity, the flakes will morph and develop into a complex, branched structure that is six-fold symmetric, giving the individual flakes their characteristic six sided shape, though each with uniquely different appearances.

Champagne snow is a term referring to very smooth and dry snow. This highly regarded type of snow occurs as a result of a temperature inversion where low humidity air at extremely cold temperatures rises to an elevation with warmer but still below freezing temps and precipitates as snow. The snow that falls under these conditions is made up of very dry and extremely small snow crystals with the lowest density, often approaching 14 inches of snow per inch of liquid water, and percentages of moisture density in the low single digits.

Northwest Colorado, Utah, and Japan are a few of the areas on earth known for having this rare combination of weather conditions required to dump some of the lightest and fluffiest powder in the world, due to their snowfall’s composition of small, dry flakes. These resorts are blessed to be in the "perfect storm" where optimal environmental conditions exist so hopefully every rider can experience this glorious powder at least once in their lives!