Demystifying Ski Terminology

If you're planning on a taking a ski holiday in a catered chalet, you'll no doubt be raring to hit the mountains and get some skiing done. If you're not an expert, however, you may find yourself linguistically challenged if you are not at least familiar with some of the more basic terms used by skiers on the slope. Here are a few to give you a head start.

Piste – Aka slope or trail, these are the marked paths that are often groomed by machines for skiers and snowboarders. They are graded to measure their steepness and difficulty. (European grading system according to difficulty: green, blue, red, black)

Off-Piste – Aka backcountry. These are unmarked and unprepared paths usually a little further away from your catered chalet than the resorts' pistes. They can be dangerous to ski on without proper training and guiding.

T-Bar – A lift with t-shaped bar to assist skiers move up a slope via an overhead cable.

Angulations – How you shape your body to control turns and improve edge-grip while skiing.

Carving – Shifting skis to the edges of one side or the other to turn without losing speed.

Camber – Curve in a ski or snowboard that angles down toward the snow for better carving or turning on firm snow.

Rocker – Aka reverse-camber, this is the curve in a ski or snowboard that angles up away from the snow making for a smoother ride on powdered snow.

Basket – The rounded portion at the bottom of a ski pole that prevents poles from sinking too deeply into the snow.

Binding – The mechanism that attaches ski boots to the skis themselves.

DINs – Aka Deutsches Institut für Normung, aka German Institute for Standardization. This is the industry standard scale for dictating how firmly attached the bindings will be to the ski boot.

Salopettes – Waterproof skiing pants that often have straps that go over a skier’s shoulders.

Chocolate Chips – Dangerous rock clusters appearing just above the snow.

Powder – Natural snowfall that is very soft and prone to cause skiers to sink into it.

Hard Pack – Compressed snow for firmer, more controllable skiing.

Crud – Aka slush. This is snow that has melted and refrozen making turning more difficult.

Bump – Piles of snow created at areas where multiple skiers tend to turn.

Whiteout – Thick fog or mist wherein you cannot see past a few metres. It makes for very dangerous conditions to ski in this kind of weather and you'd be far better off staying cosy in your catered chalet.

Flat Light – Heavy cloud cover without direct sunlight that spreads light so evenly that no shadows appear, making it difficult to spot bumps in the snow.

Apres Ski – Evening activities and entertainment available once the sun goes down in the resort, hotel and often even in your own private catered chalet.

Keep these terms in mind, and you’ll be sounding like an expert in no time!

Belinda Smythson works for Ski Amis, a specialist ski travel agency and booking service offering bonded holidays staying in a catered or self catered chalet in La Tania and other fantastic destinations. For a luxury or good-value skiing holiday and the best catered chalets call Ski Amis.