It is fast becoming winter, and this will be my first winter that I have a decent camera, so I was wondering how to make the most of the seasons beauty.

I am wondering if there are any techniques that are good for capturing scenes that often occur during the winter in snowy areas. In particular, the terrain will be mostly mountainous, but not exclusively. Obviously there will be a lot of white, and during the day lots of reflection from the snow. I am interested in exposure technique, composition, and special filters. I currently use a circular polarizer, but I don't know what else is good in this situation.

I would also be interested in techniques and such for icy water photos. Some of the locations I will be shooting at will be near lakes and streams, likely to be overtaken by ice this time of year.