Ski Glossary

There is a lot of terminology related to skiing and snowboarding. This page is an attempt to identify and define most of these terms.

Angulation is the bending of the ankles, knees and hips to achieve a greater degree of the ski edge.

Apres-ski is a French term referring to socialising after skiing.

Bonking is the act of utilizing terrain park equipment such as sliding or balancing.

Bumps is another term for moguls. 

Crud is a type of snow characterised by an uneven surface with lumps of powder and other patches that are slippery. 

A half pipe is a channel built of snow usually about 100 to 400 feet long with walls up to 20 feet high.

A kicker is a type of jump shaped with raised area and an abrupt lip (top edge).

Moguls are mounds of snow spread over ungroomed ski runs.

Powder refers to freshly fallen dry snow. 

A quarter pipe is like a half pipe, but with only one side.

A resort (ski resort) is a somewhat ambiguous term which may refer to a to a ski village, ski area or both.

Shaped skis are characterised by their 'hourglass' shape. They are designed to be easier to turn as they are shorter yet still offer good stability and edging qualities.

Side slipping is performed through a slipping motion straight down the fall line with the skis pointed across the hill. 

A ski area refers to a region on which you can ski or snowboard.

A ski village refers to a town or city near a ski area generally providing accommodation and other ski related services.

Slush refers to wet snow.

A tabletop is a mound of snow with the top sheared off providing a flat, level surface for jumping over.

A terrain park is an area containing various obstacles to help snowboarders and skiers to perform tricks. Terrain parks equipment includes jumps, kickers, hips, rails, boxes and tabletops.

Traversing is skiing across the fallline. 

The vertical rise of a ski area is the difference between the base and top elevations of the skiable terrain.