True OR - in the worst case scenario in the mountains, 4 skis, one at each corner is the best, or ice axes, but rarely are there 4 of them...
There are snow stakes of many type, SMC type, drilled ones and long ones and short. You have to really pack the spot where the stake will go into the snow hard, which mean you will have to add considerable snow to that spot in order for it to be packed and at the same level as the rest of the snow. Often in hard snow, or in packed snow, most any kind of stake my do, and there are square shapes, 5 pointed etc etc and most would work except for those little summer stakes.
If you really need to stake out, and you lack the skis or ice axes or the snow is too shallow or loose, you will be tying out the corners of your tent. If its shallow, you might tie it to shrubs, or you use "deadmen". Often there are downed branches or other material laying around to use. You stomp a boot width wide trench about 6 inches deep in the snow going away from the tent in the direction that you wish to anchor it, for your anchor line, then you stomp another boot width trench maybe 2 feet long, perpendicular to the first and about one and a half to two feet from your tent such that the first trench intersects the second in the middle making a "T". Lay the cord from your tent across this trench and then lay your deadman material over the line and stomp it down into the trench, bury and stomp again. Now you have a cord going down into the snow, going under a buried deadman, and then it comes up to the loose end in your hand. Tie this loose end back onto the tent and tie with a tautline hitch, or if you have enough cord, loop it back through your tent stake out loop and then tie it with a couple half hitches on bites (looped back ends that can be pulled to lossen the knot), so they will pull easily back through the snow, to loosen when frozen.
When you leave you simply untie the tautline hitch or half hitches and pull and let the loose end of the cord be pulled back into the snow and free leaving the deadman in place and causing you no problems getting your tent free.
Or just bury the dead men and tie a knot to it and use your ice axe to chop them out after being frozen in - your choice. We used to use the screw stakes. You stomped them into hard snow and poured water over them to freeze into ice (by the way the IS the solidest way to stake out), then you could unscrew them when you left. I have carried thin pices of branchs 16 inches long, collected in the summer, to bury as deadmen and just leave them behind where I found them in the winter. (well approximately where I found them OK?)
There are also "snow pickets" and climbers deadmen made of aluminum, shaped like a shovel blade and having a strong metal loop through them to attach to. Ultimatley tents are tied out to carabiners driven into rocks around it, often with multiple guy out points being in the tie down system.
Jim