Skiing terms

Skiing terms


  • Après-ski: important tradition in the ski lifestyle. It’s a moment to gather with friends / family after a day on the slopes and enjoy cosy time together around drink and food.


  • Backcountry skiing: Alpine skiing or snowboarding in an area without a chairlift access, not patrolled, where you need to hike the mountain before enjoying a trail in virgin snow.


  • Beginner area: specially designed for novices and located at the bottom of the trails, close to the skiing and snowboarding school, it is the zone where beginners can experiment their first turns on the slope.


  • Bindings: They connect the boot to the ski or the snowboard.


  • Carving: Carving is where the edges cut into the snow so well that the skis do not slide sideways, and travel straight along their length. Because the edges on modern carving skis are curved, they cut into the snow in a slight arc, the skis then follow the edges and this takes you around in a turn.


  • DIN: The binding needs to be adjusted so as to support a certain amount of pressure to keep you on your skis. The settings will depend on your skier type, weight, height, age and boot length. If set pressure is exceeded, the ski is released to protect the skier from injury. Beginners do not have the same DIN as more experienced skiers.


  • Downhill: A technique where skiers bend their knees and lean forward to reach a much faster speed.



  • Moguls: Small bumps of snow formed non-uniformly as skiers and snowboarders use the trails. For training purposes, moguls can be mechanically drawn.


  • Powder “pow”: A type of snow with smaller and dryer flakes surrounded by a lot of air; therefore, it’s lighter and the wind can move it easily.


  • Skiable terrain: An organized and managed area where ski and snowboarding can be practised.


  • Snow cover: Commonly called the base, it is the accumulation of snow on the ground.


  • Snow-grooming machine: A tracked vehicle used for compacting and clearing snow on the mountain. Generally, groomed surfaces are easier to ski for everyone. Freshly groomed trails are called “corduroy”.
  • Snow plow: A basic technique for learning how to ski. Beginners who use this sure and stable technique can progress safely and get used to the sensation of sliding. Skis are positioned to form a pizza slice, preventing skiers from sliding, by skidding against the snow.
  • Spring skiing: Skiing during the period beginning generally toward the end of March, when skiing conditions are sometimes uncertain and greatly influenced by the ambient temperature.
  • Surface: The layer of snow that skiers and snowboarders are in contact with. Skiing and snowboarding conditions are greatly influenced by its characteristics.


  • T-Bar: A device used for pulling skiers to the top of the hills with handles pulled by a cable.


  • Telemarking: One of the oldest skiing techniques, telemarking is free-heel skiing, allowing skiers to make turns while bending their inside knee.



  • Vertical drop: The difference in altitude between two points on the Earth’s surface. Vertical drop on the mountain is the difference in altitude between the peak and the base mountain.



  • Wax: Wax is applied to the ski or snowboard base to protect it and reach optimised performance: for example decrease friction and increase traction.