Riding the last couple of days with snow on the road has me thinking about some northern indigenous groups or tribes that have nine (or is it eleven?) names for different types of snow. I'm starting my own categories (no names yet) and have identified at least the following:

-very new light dry snow (easy to ride in)
-heavy, wet new snow (OK to ride if not too deep)
-drifted snow (ride quality depends on depth)
-drifted snow with a crust (tough going)
-very wet slush, almost liquid (sloppy but not bad for riding)
-snow packed and polished by cars, almost ice (often no fun; needs studded tires)
-snow lightly packed by only one or two passes of cars (OK for riding)
-snow from a recent pass of a snow plow (not bad if not deep)
-refrozen snow (bad)

(To complicate matters, ride quality may vary with the temperature.)

(Of course there is actual ice, as there is water, but I'm excluding them from my "snow" categories.)

I don't think my list is finished; it's an early work in progress. Feel free to add your own varieties.