snow crust

noun

a relatively hard, upper layer or film of ice or compacted snow on a snow surface.

Origin of snow crust

First recorded in 1815–25

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

He came forcibly down on the snow-crust in a sitting posture.
The Camp in the Snow
William Murray Graydon
It's too heavy—she never trod down the snow-crust like that, poor bird!
Mabel's Mistake
Ann S. Stephens
With wide-sprawled wings she thudded down upon the snow-crust, almost under the fox's complacent jaws.
The Secret Trails
Charles G. D. Roberts
Joe came down with great force, his feet foremost, and running through the snow-crust to a great depth.
Wild Western Scenes
John Beauchamp Jones
Breaking through the snow-crust he mixed snow with the moss and also rolled the sweater in snow.
The Boy Scouts in A Trapper's Camp
Thornton W. Burgess