Like many activities and sports, skiing comes with its own language. Forged from the freeride and freestyle pioneers, and perfected by the professionals, skiers and snowboarders have created endless ways to stay describe sheer joy and picture perfect riding conditions.
So what do you need to know to be an expert in the hills? Everything from bluebird powder days to GNAR here's Skiing Unlocked's five skiing terms and phrases you need to know.
Still want more? Check out Skiing Unlocked's full ski vocab guide here.
1. Bluebird
Let's start simple. A Bluebird day is a day without a cloud in the sky: when the sun shines and the sky seems to stretch on forever, a deep azure blue that is all to easy to get lost in.
Bluebird days are the best, topped only by Bluebird powder days. Some of mine - and I bet yours - favourite memories have been forged from days when the cloud has cleared from the storm the night before, and you can score powder line after powder line in just superb conditions.
Which leads us into ...
2. No Friends on Powder Days
This one is fairly self explanatory, I should hope. On the best powder days in quiet mountain towns, it's not unheard of for streets of shops to shut for the day, or at least the morning, following a big dump of snow.
This is the time to leave friends, family, meetings, commitments, everything behind for the ultimate line. Slow skiers need not apply.
Of course, this is slightly facetious; everyone knows you ski off piste and in the backcountry with friends - to be on hand in case anything goes wrong, but also to share the pure stoke of an awesome powder day.
3. Low Angle Laps
This is a really important one to keep in mind for avalanche safety reasons.
One of the biggest difficulties faced by many skiers new to avalanche safety is overcoming the "paranoia" that comes with doing your first avalanche safety course.
This is a well documented phenomenon which I covered in more detail in my post here, and is well known to avalanche professionals. After two or three days of incessant reminders that skiing off piste can and will kill you, you vow never to ski anything steeper than your wonky desk ever again.
Trouble is, without having fun, why are we here? There are two solutions to this, one is continuing personal learning (again, see my post here), or finding fun elsewhere: enter low angle laps.
Low angle laps are great when the avalanche risks ticks up but you don't want to miss out on amazing powder. Remember, avalanches generally only happy on slopes between 30° and 45° angle, so you skiing on slopes less than this, and especially with trees to anchor the snow in place, you can score turn after turn in amazing powder.
4. Considerable
The third level - the middle of five - on the avalanche risk scale is "considerable", and is where many avalanche forecasts tend to sit in the middle of winter especially after fresh snow.
Considerable sounds a bit like an avalanche is really likely, doesn't it?
Well ... yeah.
The definition of "considerable" includes "human triggered avalanches likely, natural triggers possible". Suddenly this has changed your whole outlook on the situation, hasn't it? This is where you avoid known hotspots, double check your local forecast, plan your routes, and generally make conservative decisions.
5. GNAR
GNAR is an acronym for "Gaffney's Numerical Assesment of Radness", created by the late, great freestylers Shane McConkey and Rob Gaffney in the 2000s.
The "Game of GNAR" was brilliantly encapsulated in a film called "GNAR the Movie", and involves Rob and Shane tearing up Squaw Valley (now renamed to Palisades Tahoe) doing stupid, ridiculous shit. Things like phoning your mum before (or during) scoring a huge line, or doing so naked, all in the name of GNAR points.
GNAR for many epitomises what skiing is. You don't have to do stupid shit like skiing naked or telling random strangers you are the best skier on the mountain (whoops), but the carelessness and carefree attitude the guys have to just having fun on the mountain is unparalleled.
If there's a lesson to take from GNAR, it's to relax and enjoy skiing - we only get so many turns on this run.
Last Lift ...
Sure, your time in the mountains isn't going to be made or broken by not knowing the lingo, and no-one expects you to rock up sounding like a pro on your first day. But sometimes, there's only certain words that can express particular feelings unique to snowsports; excitement, danger, or freedom ...
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