English word for Norwegian "skaresnø" - snow with a hard crust

Is there an English word for what Norwegians call "skaresnø" ('skare'-snow) - or just "skare"?

It's the hard crust/lid you get on top of snow, where the top layer has started to melt a bit before freezing again - often due to the sun shining on the snow all day or temperatures just above freezing. It's not ice - it's still snow - but it's been bound together when freezing.

If the crust is strong enough, you can ski - or even walk - across it without sinking into the snow underneath. Of course, there's always a danger that the "skare" isn't quite strong enough to bear you...

We also talk about "skareføre" - where "føre" is more about the condition of the surface we want to move across... here it's snow, but it's also used for road condition. "isføre" (icy conditions) implies you'll have to be careful when driving and walking... "klisterføre" ("sticky"-condition refers to a type ski wax used for snow above freezing - which is rather sticky itself)... and "skareføre" implies that the "skaresnow" is at least strong enough to ski across - if not also to walk across.

Solution 1:

I googled around and found this site about different types of snowflake, snowfall, and snow formations. Under the "formations" section, they define crust as "a hard snow surface lying upon a softer layer, formed by sun, rain, or wind."

Given that I know of no widespread term for it, you might call it snowcrust in an attempt to parallel the Norwegian.

Solution 2:

Locally (in the Pacific Northwest) we use "silver thaw" as exactly what you describe. Google defines silver thaw as “a glassy coating of ice formed on the ground or an exposed surface by freezing rain or the refreezing of thawed ice”; I find no source to document our use as universally accepted.