While purists may put spring skiing behind the adrenaline rush of deep snow, nothing captures the free fall thrills of snow sports as the exhilaration of corn. Simply speaking, corn snow makes ordinary skiers or snowboarders into gods.

In fact, even the gods agree.

"I'll take corn snow over three feet of the driest powder any day," says Todd Kelly, a former US Ski Team member and veteran World Cup downhiller. "It's like turning on butter. You can ski anything you want."

"Corn snow is the perfect surface," says Tamara McKinney, former World Cup ski champion. "It's the freedom turn. It reminds me of skiing on cream cheese."

"California has the best corn snow in the world," emphatically states Stu Campbell. Campbell, Instruction Editor for Ski Magazine, was Director of
Skiing at Heavenly for 18 years. "The best corn is the kind that peals off like fruit skin. It is so forgiving. The challenge of corn is staying aware of the angle of the sun so to keep finding just the right texture. As the sun moves, you move to discover just the right phase of melting."

Indeed, the two rules to keep in mind are no sun, no fun; and what the sun giveth, the sun will taketh away…in time.

"At Heavenly you need to be on the Nevada side in the early morning," explains Campbell. "Once that terrain goes into the shade the snow quickly becomes coral-headed junk. Then it's time to go to the California side.
Skiing corn is always a matter of sensitivity and feeling your way."

Corn skiing is dream-like, a paradise of speed, power, and grace. It not only creates confidence in ability, but a nobility of feeling. The more you ski it, the more you crave it.

"Corn's the premium snow to teach on. It takes very little action to get the ultimate response," says Mike Iman, Director of Skiing at the Sugar Bowl resort atop Donner Summit. "I teach an open, functional stance where you're on both skis at the same time. The outside ski dominates, but only as needed to pull off the turn. Corn snow produces the ability to use a soft edge. Because of its nature and texture, the student quickly develops the sensation of rounding the turn."

Local Corn Rows
Alpine Meadows.
When the sun gets high in the sky, some of the best zinger conditions can be found early in the morning off the High Traverse. Take the Alpine Bowl Chair. Go skier's right and over the southern ridge into Ward Canyon. The short, well-traveled hike accesses the Sherwood Bowls that include Sun Bowl, Big Bend Bowl, and SP Bowl. They stretch towards Twin Peaks in a beautiful arc of Lake Tahoe scenery. Wide, open, steep, and more than 600 acres to choose from, the High Traverse area makes for a springtime corn Mecca.

Palisades Tahoe.
Palisades Tahoe has every type of terrain, facing just about every direction. Some spring hangouts such as Sun Bowl or The Slot off Headwall chair don't require any hiking to reach their corn pleasures. On the other hand, there's much reward and pleasure for the enthusiast willing to do a little walking.

Granite Chief is the highest peak at Squaw. Start from the top patrol shack at Granite Chief Chair where one must check in with the patrol. There is excellent advanced skiing when the upper chutes are filled. After the first gulp of a turn just churn the chute until you run out of pitch or out of thighs, which ever comes first. A straightforward line, it follows directly down to the lifts in Shirley Canyon.