the snow itself9 words
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- powder
- fresh, soft, deep snow. the thing everyone chases. falling in it is the best kind of falling.
- groomers / corduroy
- runs machines flattened overnight into neat ridges. smooth, predictable. beginners: your best friend.
- hardpack
- snow packed down firm. east coast standard issue. edges matter here.
- ice
- you'll know. everyone slides on ice, including the people who say they don't.
- crud / chop
- powder after a few hundred people rode through it. lumpy, tiring.
- slush
- warm-day snow, wet and heavy. slow and forgiving. great for learning, terrible for gloves.
- corn
- spring snow melted and refrozen into loose pellets. weirdly fun.
- base
- the packed snow depth under everything. more base, fewer rocks.
- gnar / gnarly
- hard terrain, or anything impressive. people still say it. you don't have to.
the mountain8 words
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- green / blue / black
- trail difficulty, easiest to hardest. relative to that mountain. no prize for going up a color.
- bunny hill / magic carpet
- the learning slope and the conveyor belt up it. every person on the mountain started here.
- lift / chair / gondola
- chairlift is a bench in the sky, gondola is a cabin. falling at the top is a rite of passage.
- terrain park
- jumps, rails, boxes. you never have to go in there.
- cat track
- a flat road between trails. flat means unstrapping. now you know why everyone groans.
- traverse
- cutting sideways across a slope instead of down it.
- backcountry / sidecountry
- outside the patrolled ropes. not a beginner thing. inside, patrol has your back. outside, nobody does.
- après
- french for the part where you eat fries in ski boots. arguably the point.
riding words13 words
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- regular / goofy
- which foot leads. regular is left, goofy is right. find out by sliding on a wood floor in socks.
- heel edge / toe edge
- the two edges of your board. controlling them is the whole first day.
- falling leaf
- sliding down on one edge, drifting side to side. how everyone starts.
- linking turns
- toe edge to heel edge and back, smoothly. the first time, you will feel like a god. correct.
- carving
- turning on a tilted edge so the board cuts a clean line. comes later. worth the wait.
- catching an edge
- the wrong edge digs in and the mountain throws you down. happens at every level. the entry fee.
- skidding / scrubbing
- sliding sideways to control speed. speed control is skill, not weakness.
- stance
- binding width and angles. rentals come set up fine. don't overthink it yet.
- switch
- riding with your other foot forward. a later chapter.
- send it
- fully commit. often yelled. optional at all times.
- yard sale
- a fall big enough your gear scatters across the slope. collect your things, take a bow.
- steez / steezy
- style plus ease. comes from mileage, not gear.
- jerry / gaper
- mocking words for someone who looks new. everyone was new. we don't use them. ride past it.
gear words6 words
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- camber / rocker
- the board's curve seen from the side. matters when you buy. not on day one.
- flex
- how stiff a board or boot is. softer is more forgiving, better for learning.
- bindings
- the things that strap your boots to the board.
- leash
- a strap some rental shops require so the board can't toboggan off without you.
- waxing / edging
- board maintenance. shops do it cheap. not a day-one concern.
- base / topsheet
- bottom and top of the board. stickers on top, scratches on the bottom. both fine.
no word like that here yet. that's a fair question, not a dumb one.