ALP Short for American/Australian (originally English) lavatory position. This is a natural position sometimes adopted at the early stages of learning and recommended at any time when good balance is in doubt, and is not just a mild joke. By bending both the hips and knees over the middle of the skis with the legs several inches apart the centre of gravity is lowered and the centre of weight has more room for latitudinal manoeuvre.

Angel poop The lightest deepest powder snow.

Angulation The bending of the knees, usually into the slope, to set an edge. The hips also have to be bent in order to keep the weight in the desired position. With little or no edge set the knees will be bent directly over the skis. With maximum edge set they will bend in towards the slope.

Anticipation Preparation made before a turn with the hands, eyes, soles of the feet, and longitudinal weight shift. When learning new technique it can also mean a pole plant, and is more often than not accompanied by angulation.

Avalanche Something that will kill you unless you are careful. With the introduction to shorter skis allowing easier off-piste skiing, and the forecast for heavier snowfalls as the world warms up, the danger of avalanches cannot be over stressed. Anyone who skis off-piste should only do so if they know about the avalanche risks at any given time in the area they are skiing in, or is going with someone who does. A public notice stating that the overall avalanche risk in the resort is low, does not mean that a particular area is safe and checks should always be made if in doubt. 

Avalament From the French ‘avaler’, to swallow. Take it to mean an absorption of a bump by lifting the legs ie: there is angulation but it comes from lifting the legs rather than lowering the body.

Balance The ability to keep the weight in the desired position. Balance is acquired by mileage and is more readily acquired by very small children. It can also be helped by being fit, having good eyesight, and learning to feel snow conditions through the soles of the feet. Longitudinal balance refers to movement of the centre of weight between the front and back of both skis, while latitudinal balance refers to weight variations between and across the skis.

Body Position The direction a skier is facing at any given moment in relation to his skis, and refers to his upper body above the hips.

Boiler plate The most appalling stuff to ski on. Churned up melted snow that has refrozen. Avoid at all costs - ankle snapping rubbish.

Camber The upward arc, rather like a bow, built into a ski from the shovel to the tail to provide tension when the ski is weighted.

Carving The arc made by a ski on its edge when the ski is under enough tension to produce substantial reverse camber. Because the ski has been bent so much, carving produces an arc of smaller radius than merely edging.

Centre of Gravity (or Centre of Mass) Theoretically speaking this is the point on a skier where an imaginary plane running through the skier in any direction would bisect a skier’s weight equally. For example, if we were to skewer him at this point without his skis and boots on, he would revolve evenly on a spit, being perfectly balanced and thus perfectly cooked right through.

Centre of Weight The same as the centre of gravity but for our purposes we take it to mean the point on the ground vertically below the centre of gravity (onto a horizontal plane) where a skier’s weight is centred at any given time. If the centre of weight is more than a critical distance from the middle of the skis and the feet at any given time, he will usually lose his balance. Various forces will alter this radius of latitude ie: gravity, forward and sideways movement, the steepness of the slope and the type of snow. By deduction, lowering the centre of gravity will give a skier more chance to stay within the radius of latitude. This raises an interesting question - why do small children learn to ski so much quicker than big adults?

Chord length The distance between the two bits of the ski touching the ground (the shovel and the tail) when the ski is lying on a flat surface. This is the distance usually used to denote a ski’s length. They used to be made in 5cm increments but now skis come in all sizes.

Christie Another name for a parallel turn reputedly invented in Christiania, Norway during the nineteenth century.

Contre Virage French for ‘against the turn’. An extra bit of turn tacked on to the end of a main turn. As a skier comes to the end of a turn he can either drop quickly down a fraction thereby unweighting the skis, or else contra rotate thereby steering the skis. The tails can then move round enabling him to initiate an edge set.

Contre Rotation French for contra rotation... a twisting of the upper body into the slope (sometimes initiated by a small movement across the body with the lower hand) to enable the tails of the skis to slide round (see above).

Corn Spring snow and the most flattering stuff to ski on.

Cornice The overhang of snow with attendant cliff formed on crests and ridges by windy conditions. Looks rather like a frozen wave.

Couloir Also known as a corrie, avalanche chute, and a gully, this is a steep narrow passage between rocks. Couloirs should always be approached and skied with care.

Crud Glutinous new snow that has been rained on and not had a chance to re freeze. Best avoided.

Dynamic friction The friction between the snow and a moving ski. It is less than static friction.

Edge Set See Setting an edge.

Edging Putting the skis on their edge by angulating. The radius of the arc formed by just an edged ski is greater than a carved ski as there is no substantial reverse camber involved.

Eyes Using them correctly is a crucial part of the anticipation process. Looking slightly further ahead than you would on your feet can can help a lot.

Fall Line An imaginary line describing the steepest route down a mountain. The fall line may change direction owing to bumps and dips.

Falling A very important part of the learning process.

Feet They are the most sensitive and therefore most important parts of your body when it comes to skiing. Look after them as well as a wood louse would look after his antennae.

Fitness Just as important as learning to fall.

Freestyle Dancing on skis. Highly recommended for improving balance and confidence. Practising freestyle moves increases the chance of recovery in sticky situations elsewhere.

Jet Turn Not used much for recreational skiing nowadays, this involves a quick avalment accompanied by a backwards and sideways (downhill) weight shift.

Lateral Projection Transferring weight from the downhill to the uphill ski while moving on a traverse.

Natural Torsion The ability of the thigh and abdominal muscles and ligaments to act like a twisted rubber band.

Piste Prepared route down a mountainside. Known as a trail in North America.

Pole Plant A crucial part of anticipation during the process of learning new techniques.

Poles Crucial accessories for a pole plant. In fact it is impossible to do a pole plant without them. They should be 5cm (2 inches) shorter than you have been used to.

Reverse Camber The arc formed in a ski by applying pressure down on it from above. The more reverse camber is applied to a ski, the shorter becomes the radius of the arc. Short radius turns are made for short turns and long radius turns for long turns. See carving

Royal Christie A flat turn on one ski while the other ski is lifted high in the air behind the skier.

Self Assessment Deciding which of the five grades of skier you fit into.

Setting an Edge Unweighting a ski by a sudden down movement at the end of a turn. The weight on the ski then increases and brakes it against the snow in preparation for the next turn. An edge set is used in short turns The angle of an edge set in relation to the fall line will vary according to the degree a skier wants to brake eg: on a very steep slope the angle would be 90 degrees to the fall line, and on a blue run perhaps only 30 degrees.

Shovel The front bit of a ski just behind the tip that is touching the snow. Also useful for digging your car out of the snow.

Sidecut The arcs formed on each side of the ski (when looked at from above) to allow the potential for reverse camber.

Skis Things you ski on.

Snowplough/Wedge/Stem The V shaped beginners turn - and hang on to for too long if not taught something more useful quite soon.

Static Friction The amount of friction between two objects that are in contact but are stationary. We are talking skis on snow here. There is much more friction between ski and snow when the skis are stationary than when they are moving. The friction between a moving ski and the snow is known as dynamic friction.

Steering Turning a ski by applying weight

Stem Christie A turn that starts with a snowplough, wedge or stem and finishes with a christie or parallel turn.

Step up Taking a definitive step up while moving on a traverse from the inside edge of the downhill ski to the outside edge of the uphill ski. It is very similar to lateral projection and if you are a gardener about as difficult to tell apart as oregano and marjoram.

Style Something of little interest to the better skier

Tail The back of a ski.

The Tuck The classic aerodynamic position adopted by racers to gain maximum speed, and by beginners going at ten miles an hour who feel like downhill racers. ( It’s strange that racers always appear to be grimacing in the tuck, while beginners are always smiling!) From an up right position to the tuck the acceleration on a medium to steep slope can be considerable, and should therefore be used with care.

Thief Someone who steals your skis. Always separate them outside a restaurant. If you can’t find them later, wait till everyone’s gone home. There should be two left. If there’s only one ski home carefully, and be on the look-out for a one legged thief. Before accusing someone, don't forget to ask yourself how many skis you had on when arriving at the restaurant.

Torque The twisting movement of a ski. The amount it will twist along its length will affect its performance. Generally, the stiffer the torque, the higher will be the ski’s performance.

Trail - Prepared route down a mountainside or a path through wooded country. Known as piste in Europe.

Unweighting Turning a ski by taking weight off it. An unweighting movement is generally executed by pivoting the tails of the skis around the tips although occasionally a ski can be pivoted around the centre (as in the Wedel turn or learning in the bumps).

Upper body The torso

Weight The application of weight on to a ski is gauged by the pressure applied by the soles of the feet. As a general rule weight is kept on the middle of the foot, and seldom moves more than an inch or two either backwards or forwards to get the desired result. The distribution of weight between the two skis can vary from all on one ski to an equal spread between the two.

Wipe Out A great sixties record from Cliff Richard's band, the Shadows. Also a crash of stupendous proportions which gets better with the telling.

RETURN TO GLOSSARY START

RETURN TO CONTENTS

SLOPE RULES