Ski Jargon Buster
How well do you know your ski jargon? If you don’t want to sound awkward on the slopes this year and make sense of what you are trying to say, here are some ski jargons you should know.
A
Air – Jumping off the snow.
Avie – Avalanche.
B
Bombing or Bomber – Travelling downhill at an uncontrolled speed.
Brain bucket – A term for Helmet.
Bunny Slope – A flat and easy area for beginners found near the base area of a slope.
Bowl – A large mountain basin, normally free of trees and tailor-made for great swooping turns or steep, speedy dives.
Bulletproof – Compacted icy snow that is hard enough to bounce back bullets.
Basket – A round or star shaped plastic part located at the bottom end of a ski pole, used to prevent poles from pushing deep into the snow.
C
Corn – Spring snow that forms into corn-sized icy snow crumbs as a result of repeated melting and refreezing of the snow.
Champagne Powder– Light and fluffy snow.
Chatter -The vibration of skis produced by traveling at high speeds.
Chocolate Chips– End of season rocks which are found poking out of the snow that generally tends to tear up your ski base.
Chowder– Chopped-up powder.
Corduroy – Freshly groomed machine-packed snow with a ribbed texture that resembles corduroy.
Chute – Steep, narrow run, usually higher on both sides.
Couloir – A narrow chute with rock walls on both sides.
Crust – Frozen surface covering loose snow.
D
Death Cookies – Icy chunks of snow covering the pistes.
Dust on the Crust – A light sprinkling of fresh snow on top of a hard, sometimes icy base.
Disco Sticks – Short slalom and twin-tip skis, capable of very short radius turns.
Deeps – Deep powder conditions that require a powder cord or leash on your skis.
E
Eat Wood–When a skier hits a tree.
Ego Snow – Machine-groomed packed powder which holds an edge without much skill or effort.
F
Face-Plant –Falling on your face.
Face Shots – Skiing fast in deep powder, that the snow sprays you in the face.
Fatty – A very wide ski designed for powder conditions.
Freshies – Fresh, untracked snow.
French Fries – Skiing with skis parallel to one another.
G
Garlands – Series of turns linked by sideslips, progressing in one direction.
Gapers – Spectators, whose location on the slope impedes skier’s downhill progress.
Goods – Untracked powder, usually in the trees.
Glades -Skiable terrain among the trees.
Gnar – Very challenging conditions.
Granular – Snow consisting of big, coarse crystals that look like rock salt.
H
Hardpack – Firm, almost icy snow.
Hit -Take-off point of a terrain feature, from which one can catch air.
Hooking – Tendency for a ski to turn uncontrollably.
Huck – Launching off a jump.
I
In-bounds -Ski terrain inside the boundaries of a ski resort.
Indy Grab – Grabbing the toe edge of your snowboard between the bindings with your rear hand.
J
Jib/Jibber or Jibbing – Riding a ski across non-snow surfaces such as rails, boxes and any other objects.
Kicker- A cheese-wedge shaped jump, often built for performing small tricks.
Kodak Courage – Skiing inspired by nearby ski magazine photographers.
L
Lift-Lickers –Kids who can’t resist freezing their tongues to the chairlift.
Liftie – Chairlift operator.
M
Mid-Fat – A wider shaped ski, designed for both on- and off-piste skiing.
Magic Carpet – A conveyor-belt like surface lift.
Milk Run – First ski of the day.
Mashed Potatoes – Wet and heavy snow.
Moguls – Bumps carved into the snow generally created by the turns of skiers or carved out for perfectly shaped mogul field.
Mute Grab – Grabbing the toe edge of your snowboard between the bindings with your front hand.
N
Noodle – A ski that lacks rigidity, making it unstable at speed.
Never-ever – A first time skier.
O
Out-of-bounds – Ski terrain located outside the boundaries of a ski resort.
P
Pack – To slam hard.
Pin-Head – Dedicated telemark skier.
Poodle Turns – Demo turns made by ski instructors.
Planker – A skier.
Pow Pow – Freshly fallen snow.
Powder Hound – A skier obsessed with sniffing out powder stashes.
Pooping – Sitting back on the skis, while bent at the waist.
Pizza -Elementary skiing technique where skis are tilted together like a slice of pizza to snowplow down a slope.
Powder Pig – Skier prone to wallowing in the deep, white stuff.
Q
Quad – Chair lift carrying four people.
R
Ripper – An accomplished and impressive skier.
Royal – Carved turn made only on the inside ski.
Runout – A wide flat area at the end of run that allows racers to slow down and also the flat run used to link tougher trails back to a ski lift.
S
Schussing or Straight Lining– Skiing straight downhill without turning.
Shell – The outer hard plastic outer part of a ski boot.
Shovel -The front end of a ski that bows out to a larger shovel shape to avoid sinking into snow.
Six-pack – A chair lift carrying six people.
Softgoods – Ski clothing, including jackets, gloves, long underwear, and hats.
Smear – To scrub off speed on the steeps by dragging your hip across the snow.
T
Toilet Turns – Sloppy turns made from the pooping position.
Tail – The back end of a ski.
Trustafarian – Rich but scruffy ski bum, pretending to be poor.
Tree Well – A dangerous hollow space formed around the base of trees after heavy snowfalls.
U
Unweighting – Any movement that reduces the downward pressure on a ski.
V
Vermin -Groups of skiers blocking access to the lift lines.
W
White Room –Deep and dry powder.
White Out – When visibility drops to almost nothing, caused by heavy snowfall, fog, or a combination of the two.
Windshield Wipers – Sloppy, heavily skidded turns.
Y
Yard Sale –Losing articles of gear and clothing while tumbling downhill.
Z
Zipper Line –The fastest route down a mogul field.
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