What do Ski & Snowboard slang terms mean?

If you’ve ever been called a ‘gaper’, let us help you find out whether that’s a good or bad piece of slang with our handy guide

Aprés Ski

Actually translates to ‘after ski’ in French. What it really means though, is getting totally sh*t-faced after a long energy busting day on the slopes. So pull your ski boots off, find a nice warm bar and let the boozing commence!

Back Country

Going totally off piste, and love dodging avalanches!

Bombing

When you fly down the mountain giving no f*cks who’s in your way! bombing!

Brain Bucket

Simply put, it’s a helmet – don’t be one and ski or board without it!

Bunny Slope

A beginner’s or toddler slope which usually has a magic carpet alongside it.

Bulletproof

Snow that’s frozen solid into one big mound of pure bulletproof rock, a real b*stard if you fall on it!

Champagne Powder

Super light and fluffy snow, even better when you’re the first one on the piste, get’s us really excited!

Chocolate Chips

Usually see these around spring time. When the snow starts to fade and you see glimpses of the stones underneath appearing. Avoid them like the plague because they’ll ruin your shiz!

Chowder

When the lovely fresh powder has been chopped up to sh*t.

Corduroy

A lovely fresh piste-bashed slope looking a lot like a corduroy textile, funnily enough 😉

Core Shot

When you’ve completed shafted yourself. You’ve gone and damaged the bottom of your ski or board so bad that it’s completely cut through the base and exposes the core. Cry. A lot.

Couloir

Another French word, couloir means ‘passage’. On the slope it’s used for anything with a small chute or tunnel usually surrounded by rock around all sides.

Crud

Usually found on a chopped up shaded side of the mountain, it’s where hard and lumpy mounds of snow have slippery solid ice patches in-between.

Death Cookies

Basically ‘cookies’ on the piste are bad. Death cookies are icy chunks that are spread all over the piste spoiling your fun.

Dust on the Crust

Just a light dusting of snow on top of a solid hard icy piste – not much fun to be honest.

Eat Wood

When you get it all wrong and crash into a tree. Like @craig in the picture.

Face-Plant

When you fall on your face, or try something stupid and land on your face. Like @craig in the other picture. See a pattern emerging here?

Face Shots

Skiing in powder so deep you have a face full of it, by the end you look like a yetti but you’re grinning from ear to ear 😀

Fall Line

This is the natural line of descent down the piste.

Flat Light

Overcast or grey skies which makes the contours on the slope hard to see, crappy!

Freeskier/Freerider

A young and trendy skier or boarder that does whatever they want. They ski everywhere, except marked out slopes… The swines!

Freshies

Slopes that haven’t been used yet, ‘untracked’! – The one thing that will make your eyes light up light a child’s on Christmas morning. It’s the ultimate, get off that chair lift and get down it and enjoy the smoothness quickly, before anyone else does – ” No friends on a powder day!” as the saying goes.

Gaper

A skiing/boarding newbie. These are not just any newbie. These are the ones that scream “HEY LOOK AT ME! I’VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE!” – They are un-cool, un-stylish, clumsy, and really stand out. Funny, but bless ’em.

Gaper Gap

Remember what we just said about a ‘Gaper’ looking a bit stupid? well a Gaper gap is a bit of the forehead showing between goggles and helmet, making them look…well, stupid!

Jibber

A person who loves to smash the fun parks or slide down anything other than snow. They get on the rails, boxes, and other bits and bobs on the mountain.

Knuckle-Dragger

Just a snowboarder doing a bit of carving. Essentially they carve so low that their knuckles scrape along the snow.

Lift-Lickers

Dumb asses who lick chair lifts and get their tongue stuck to it. Ouch!

Liftie

The dude helps operate the chair lifts.

Magic Carpet

No, not Kim Kardashian’s muff. It’s the the little conveyor belt that runs along side kid’s slopes so they don’t have to worry about holding things while they learn. Can we have an adult one yet?

Milk Run

Up and at ’em. Get up and get out! it’s the first ski of the day.

Park Rat

Someone who just can’t help but piss about on the fun parks/terrain parks all day.

Poodle Turns

They are what instructors do when teaching people how to ski.

Pow Pow

Lovely, bit of the freshly fallen powder.

Powder Hound

People who just love to sniff out hidden area’s of fresh powder. Woof.

Ripper

A bast*rd. OK, we really mean a skier with some impressive skills.

Ski Bum

Someone who obsesses to ski all the time and avoids anything and everything if it doesn’t involve a ski!

Ski Bunny

A female skier who seems to be more bothered about her appearance than actually skiing.

Shred

To snowboard or ski well. Not applicable to beginners. Or @craig.

Traverse

Simply means to ski across the fall line (see above if you’ve forgotten what  that means).

Yard Sale

Someone who’s completely stacked it! they’ve crashed so bad they’ve lost all their shiz. Gloves, skis, poles etc all spread out all over the slope – like a yard sale!

Wedeln

Smooth, cool looking turns with you knees tucked up, your feet close together and generally looking cool as f*ck (if you don’t stack it)

Zipper Line

The fastest route down a mogul run, resembling a zipper.