Dictionary: Skiing Lingo
If you’ve been asking yourself, “What the heck is he talking about?,” then this page is for you
Notes: – “Skiing” usually refers to skiing or boarding. Sorry if I offended any knuckle-draggers. – Formatting is messed up… I’ll fix that later
Did I miss something? LMK and I’ll add it!
All-Mountain – A versatile style of skiing and snowboarding equipment that blends elements of all styles, including freeriding, freestyle, and powder.
Backcountry: Skiing off resort, which means no lifts, ski patrol, or avalanche mitigation.
Bail: When you decide against completing a trick or don’t land it.
Beta: Intel / insight into an area – could be a ski line, route, trailhead parking area, or even local pub.
Bluebird: A blue sky day of skiing where the sun is shining, and the snow is still of high quality.
Booter / Kicker / Jib: A natural or man-made jump or launching point.
Bowl: A natural, wide-open feature on a slope, typically found near the peaks of mountains. Most resorts are lucky to have one bowl.
Bumped Out: Skied off until it has become moguls.
Butter: Leaning on the nose or tail of the ski and making it bend, like a plastic knife buttering toast.
Carve: A sweeping turn caused by driving the edges of your ski into the snow. Often refers to a well-executed turn.
Champagne: The creme de la crop of snow for skiing. Very light and dry. Great for skiing, but not great for building igloos.
Chatter: When your ski starts to shake or vibrate due to icy or otherwise poor snow conditions.
Choppy: Usually on or after a powder day. No longer fresh pow, but not bumped out yet either.
Chute: A narrow, tight, and often technical run or line that involves going in between two natural features, whether they are rocks, cliffs, or trees.
Concrete: Frozen snow that looks like powder from a distance but is hard and doesn’t break through
Corduroy (Courd): Refers to the snow ridges left after a snowcat grooms a run at the resort. It looks like corduroy fabric.
Corn: The springtime equivalent of powder, and the next best thing. When the snow warms up just the right amount it get’s super soft (and not yet sticky)
Crud: Variable-condition snow, usually a mix of powder and ice
Cruiser: A resort run that isn’t extremely technical but allows you to go as fast as you want to.
Crust: The hard top layer on punchy snow or concrete snow
Dump: The act of snowing, typically said when it is really coming down or when you ask the winter weather gods for a gift.
Dust on Crust: When you get a small amount of snow on an existing, hard layer. Better than nothing!
First Tracks: When you are the first skiier to go down a run with fresh snow on it.
Freeride / Big Mountain: A style of skiing that involves challenging and technical terrain with a focus on big-mountain and backcountry lines.
Freestyle / Park: The type of skiing done in the terrain park and any sort of skiing emphasizing tricks, whether that’s in the air or on natural and manufactured features.
Gnar/GNAR: good snow; or McConkey’s Numerical Assessment of Radness (a point system for doing random, typically ridiculous stuff on the mountain).
Gwamp: A heavy, wet snow condition caused by cloudy, warm nights. Usually deep and hard to ski.
Hero Snow: A skier’s dream. When there is so much light fluffy snow that every fall is cushioned with a bed of powder.
Hooky: Snow conditions or ski conditions that pull on your ski and make it turn unexpectedly hard. Not a good thing.
Hucker: Someone who goes huge without regard to their physical wellbeing or whether they land properly. It can be both a good and bad term.
Icephalt: An extremely icy run that is so hard and unfriendly, it resembles asphalt.
Jerry / Gaper: Anyone on the mountain who obviously doesn’t know what they are doing based on their skiing abilities or choice of clothing and equipment. Often seen committing social gaffes and/or wearing inappropriate clothing (jeans, jerseys, no helmet, goggle gap, etc.)
Knuckle-Dragger: Insult for snowboarders, because they often drag their hand on the snow and closely resemble cavemen.
Line: A chosen route or run down any given trail. Some skiers pick out their line on the mountain before heading downhill, and others improvise as they go.
Packed Powder: What they call icy conditions on the East Coast
Park Rat: Someone who spends nearly all of their time in the terrain park. Usually sporting a 3XL hoodie
Poaching: Skiing out of bounds in an off-limits area at the resort. This is dangerous, but some skiers see it as a right of passage.
Pow: Otherwise known as powder or even pow pow, this is the stuff a skier’s dreams are made of. It translates into fresh snow and lots of it.
Powder Hound: A skier who lives for fresh snow and is always on the hunt for powder and lots of it.
Powder-Pusher: Insult for a beginner snowboarder who uses a ‘falling leaf’ style to get down the mountain, instead of carving – especially notable on a powder day.
Punchy: Snow frozen on the top, but you break through it when turning, making for very challenging skiing
Roller: A natural feature, typically on a groomed run that gets suddenly steeper, allowing the skier to get some air at high speeds.
Rolling down the windows: When a skier loses their balance while in the air and their arms start to flail (like rolling down a manual window).
Send: The act of trying hard on a difficult ski line. Yelling “Send it” at someone who is contemplating a challenging terrain option is always acceptable. You must always respect the send, regardless of results.
Session: A way to classify a specific section of your daily skiing. You can have an awesome session in the park or a killer pow session.
Shred/Shredding: The act of skiing. It doesn’t matter what type of terrain or conditions you are in. If you are having fun, you are shredding.
Shredding the gnar: Basically refers to any good day of skiing. If you’re out there on the mountain having fun, you are shredding the gnar.
Skiing / riding switch: Skiing backwards or boarding with your opposite foot forward
Snake: Someone who cuts you off as you are approaching a line. Usually said in the terrain park or on a powder day.
Snow Bum: Someone who lives, eats, breathes, and sleeps for the snow. Employment optional.
Snowsniffer: Someone who stops right before the takeoff of a big jump and doesn’t commit to going off it.
Steeze: A way to describe a skier’s style. Someone can have a unique steeze that expresses their personality when they ski.
Sticky: As the snow warms up, it get sticky (and exhausting)
Stoke: A general description of the feeling one experiences when skiing. It can apply to other extreme sports as well.
Stomp: When you land a trick or maneuver perfectly.
Throw down: To do a really awesome or impressive line or trick when you are skiing. To truly throw down, you’ll need witnesses.
Tracked Out: Usually on a powder day, means that it’s already been skied
Traversing: Going from one side of the slope to the other in a drawn-out fashion rather than carving and turning downhill. Often done when the terrain is sketchy or when trying to get to a different area.
Tree Well: A ditch, hole, or moat-like area surrounding a tree buried in snow. These can be very dangerous.
White room: A section of untracked ski terrain with deep powder
Yard sale: A nasty fall or wipe-out. Sometimes called a garage sale. It refers to when your gear goes flying as you tumble down the mountain.