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| A |
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| Aerials |
Air maneuvers |
| Andrecht |
A rear handed backside handplant with a front-handed grab. |
| Angle of Attack |
The angle used in relation to the fall line when riding across the hill. A shallow angle is mostly across the hill while a steep angle is mostly downhill. |
| Avalanche transceiver |
A radio transmitter/receiver worn by riders in avalanche terrain to aid rescuers in locating buried avalanche victims. |
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| B |
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| Back flip |
Flipping backward off a jump. |
| Backcountry |
An area used for snow activities away from the groomed runs and lifts of a resort. |
| Bail |
A metal piece used to fasten hard boots to their bindings. |
| Barrel roll |
A sideways front flip that tucks under the boarder's self. |
| Base |
The bottom of a snowboard. |
| Bevel |
The process of filing a slight groove into the base or side edge of a board to tune its performance. |
| Big Air |
A big jump where you 'catch big air'. Big air contests involve, well, jumping. |
| Bindings |
The devices used to attach your feet to the board. |
| Boardercross |
A snowboard obstacle-course racing competition. |
| Board-Stall |
Where the rider stalls on an object between both bindings. |
| Boning out |
To straighten one or both legs during a jump for extra style. |
| Bonking |
To hit the tip or tail of your board on an object while in the air. |
| Booting out |
The act of falling over due while edging to your boots or bindings hanging over the edges of your board. |
| Boots |
Worn on your feet to keep them warm and dry. Also used for transfering the movements from your legs to your board. |
| Brandon Crass |
Named after a snowboard master, you grab your pants and pull them down in the air, otherwise known as the blow job. |
| Bumps |
Raised areas in the terrain. Also referred to as moguls. |
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| C |
|
| Caballerial |
Trick jumping 360 degrees and landing in your original stance. |
| Camber |
The upper arch built into the base of your board which is most visible when placed on the ground. Used primarily for weight distribution and providing stability. |
| Canadian Bacon |
Rear hand, toeside grab, between feet, through legs. |
| Cap |
The method of board construction where the topsheet of the board extends over the edges. |
| Carve |
Advanced snowboarding maneuver involving riding on the edge of the board, using the board's sidecut to turn while cutting a thin trail through the snow. |
| Catching Air |
Jumping with a snowboard is sometimes refered to as 'catching air'. |
| Chicken Salad |
Front hand grabs through the legs to the heel edge. |
| China Air/Korean Air |
An easier version of the Japan Air, the front hand grabs the toe side in front of the front foot. Both knees are then bent. |
| Chute |
A narrow strip of snow surrounded by cliffs and rocks. |
| Corduroy |
Mechanically groomed surfaced usually used for practicing new manuevers or carving. |
| Corn Snow |
Thawed snow which has refrozen. |
| Cornice |
Snow packed by wind to form a steep face and overhanging tip. |
| Crail air |
The rear hand grabs the toe edge in front of the front foot. |
| Crampons |
Sharp metal cleats attached to the bottom of boots which aid in climbing ice or hard snow. |
| Crippler |
An inverted aerial where the rider performs a 180 degree flip. The athlete approaches the wall riding forward, becomes airborne, rotates 90 degrees, flips over in the air, rotates another 90 degrees, and lands riding forward. |
| Cross-Rocket |
Advanced variation of a Rocket Air, however both hands are crossed to opposite sides of the nose board, while the rear leg is boned and the front leg is pulled up. |
| Crud |
Tracked out powder. |
|
| D |
|
| Doublechuk |
A variation of the Michalchuk, but with two backflip rotations. |
| Downhill Edge |
The edge of your board which isn't digging into the snow when it is placed across the hill. |
| Dryslope |
Artificial slopes created for snowboarding or skiing. |
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| E |
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| Edge Angle |
The angle at which the board is tilted on its edge. |
| Edge Change |
The motion of rolling smoothly from one edge to the other during a turn. |
| Edges |
The sharp and smooth edges of your board made from steel strips. |
| Eggflip |
An eggplant where the rider chooses to flip over in order to re-enter the pipe instead or rotating 180 degrees. This trick is performed forward to fakie or switchstance (fakie to forward). |
| Eggplant |
A one-handed 180 degree invert in which the front hand is planted on the lip of the wall and the rotation is backside. |
| Elgeurial |
An invert where the halfpipe wall is approached fakie, the rear hand is planted, a 360 degree backside rotation is made, and the rider lands going forward. Named after Eddie Elguera. |
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| F |
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| Face Plant |
Falling face first into the snow. Usually happens when your toe edge gets caught in the snow. |
| Fall Line |
The path directly down the hill. |
| Flail |
A trick in which the rider waves his/her hands wildly while in the air. |
| Flex |
The amount a board can bend as well as where it can bend. |
| Forward Lean |
The angle at which the highback of a soft-boot binding leans towards the toe edge. |
| Freeride |
Snowboarding style which involves riding through a variety of terrain, trails and snow conditions. |
| Freestyle |
Snowboarding style which involves acrobatic tricks, jumps and spins in specially constructed parks and terrains. |
| Front flip |
Flipping forward off a jump. |
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| G |
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| Garland |
Half or partial turns performed without a change of edge. |
| Gay twist |
Halfpipe fakie to regular 360° spin with a grab. |
| Giant Slalom |
A competition where riders navigate around a series of poles in a set route. The term 'Giant' is used because the events usually have longer turns and higher speeds than normal slalom events. |
| Goofy |
Riding with the right foot as the prefered front foot. |
| Gortex |
Waterproof fabric usually used in the construction of outer snow clothing. |
| Grab |
The act of grabbing the edge of your board usually performed as part of an aerial freestyle move. Grabbing your board can be done with either hand and on either edge. |
| Gradient |
The measure of the steepness of a slope. |
| Grasser |
Derived from the late 80s early 90s pro snowboarder Chris Roach of Grass Valley, CA due to their aficionado for the aerial and the herb. Notable riders who inspired others with this air were also Jamie Lynn, Shawn Palmer, Daniel Klemesrud and Terry Kidwell. |
| Groomed |
Snow which has been prepared for riders using snow cats or other machinery. |
| Ground Beef |
Back hand grabs through the legs to the toe edge. |
| Ground School |
The place with a flat or gentle grade slope for beginners to practice key fundamental maneuvers. |
|
| H |
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| Haakon flip |
A halfpipe trick named after freestyle legend Terje Haakonsen of Norway. The Haakon flip is like a switch rodeo 720 performed in a halfpipe. |
| Halfpipe |
A U-shapped ramp built in the snow for performing freestyle aerial maneuvers. |
| Handplant |
A handstand on a halfpipe using one or both hands. |
| Heel Edge |
The edge of your board under your heel. |
| Heel Side |
A turn made using the heel edge. |
| Highback |
The back of soft-boot bindings which extend upwards behind your lower legs. |
| Hixcy Grab |
Front hand grabs the toe side between the binding and the rear hand grabs the heel side between the binding. |
| Huckfest |
A peer-pressure driven session of hucking. |
| Hucking |
To recklessly launch yourself off huge jumps with little regard for your safety. |
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| I |
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| Ice |
Compacted and frozen snow. |
| Iguana Air |
The back hand grabs the toe side behind the rear foot. |
| Indy |
Grabbing the toe edge of the board between the feet using the back hand. |
| Indy Nosebone |
An indy grab where the front leg is boned. |
| Inserts |
The holes in a snowboard used for attaching or adjusting the position of the bindings. |
| Invert |
A trick jump where the rider is upside down. |
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| J |
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| Japan Air |
The front hand grabs the toe edge just behind/on the front foot. The board is pulled behind the rider (tweaked). |
| Jib |
Sliding on rails or other platforms with the snowboard. |
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| L |
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| Leash |
A strap or cord which is attached to your board at one end and your front foot at the other to prevent your board from sliding away from you. Lip The top edge of a half- or quarterpipe. |
| Lemon Grab |
The rider grabs both the nose and tail. |
| Lien air |
Grabbing heelside near the front binding with the leading hand. |
| Lime Grab |
The rider positions themselves vertically in the air while grabbing the nose and tail. |
|
| M |
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| McEgg |
An invert where the rider plants the front hand on the wall, rotated 540 degrees in a backside direction and lands riding forward. |
| McTwist |
A backside 540 with an inversion. Often over-estimated. |
| Melon |
The front hand grabs the heel side in front of the bindings while the front leg is boned. Also, the wrist is rotated inwards to complete the grab. |
| Melon, Water |
A melon grab where the rider bones the front leg and turns the board the 45' angle. |
| Melonchollie |
The front hand grabs the heel side of the board. The rider then bones the front leg and bends the rear leg, bringing the nose of the board forward and up. |
| Method |
A classic skateboarding air. The front hand grabs the heel side of the board between the bindings, both knees are bent and the board is pulled up behind the rider. |
| Method, Seated |
The front hand reaches under the board and grabs the toe side, both knees are bent pulling he board up behind the rider. |
| Michalchuk |
A trademark flip by first performed by Michael Michalchuk. A flat-spinning, on-axis backflip often grabbing melon, indy or method and rotating 540 degrees. |
| Mindy |
Both hands grab the toe side of the board between the bindings and both legs are boned. |
| Mindy, Super |
The front hand grabs the toe side in front of the front foot, the back hand grabs the toe side behind the back foot, both legs are boned. |
| Misty flip |
A front flip with a backside spin at least 180°. |
| Moguls |
Bumps, mounds and valleys which impede riders. |
| Mosquito |
The front hand grabs the heel side between the bindings and the front knee is tucked up near the chest. |
| Mule Kick |
An early snowboarder adaptation of the skateboarders method air. Often called a Toyota air, after it's similar posturing to the early 1980s Toyota "Oh What A Feeling" ad campaign fearturing people jumping off the ground, performed by jumping into an aerial backbend with legs bending until nearly kicking yourself in the butt as with a skiers "backscratcher" air, both arms bent back high over the head and not grabbing the board. |
| Mute |
Front hand grabs the toe edge between the bindings, and is either not spun, or spun BS. |
|
| N |
|
| Nejecila (Nej for short) |
Do a lien air and an indy simultaneously. |
| Nollie |
A trick in which the rider springs off the nose of their board and into the air. |
| Non-Grab |
A trick in which the rider makes the conscious decision not to grab, popularized by Devun Walsh. |
| Nose |
The upturned front end of a snowboard. Also known as the tip. |
| Nosegrab |
Front hand grabs the nose of the board. |
| Nose-Pick |
Where you stall on a object nose-press without moving, while grabbing indy, and then jumping back off the object into the jump you came off. |
| Nuclear |
The rear hand grabs the nose of the board. |
|
| O |
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| Off-piste |
Areas outside of the marked areas and trails of the snow resort. |
| Ollie |
A trick in which the rider springs off the tail of their board and into the air. |
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| P |
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| Piste |
Marked areas and trails patroled by the snow resort. |
| Plate Bindings |
Bindings for hard boots. |
| Poptart |
Airing from fakie to forward in the halfpipe without rotation. |
| Poser-slide |
Doing a 50-50 slide but having no style what-so-ever, kind of like a pencil air but on a rail sliding 50-50. |
| Powder |
Fresh soft snow usually prefered by beginners. |
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| Q |
|
| Quarterpipe |
A single wall (as opposed to two walls for the halfpipe) used for freestyle maneuvers. |
|
| R |
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| Raver Air |
Front hand grabs the heel edge behind the back binding, while the front leg is boned and the board is rotated 90 degrees so the base faces downhill. |
| Regular |
Riding with the left foot as the prefered front foot. |
| Rippey flip |
Straight back flipping frontside 360°, with a method grab (named for Jim Rippey). |
| Roast Beef |
Back hand grabs through the legs to the heel edge. |
| Rocket Air |
Both hands grab the nose of the board, while the rear leg is boned and the front leg is pulled up. |
| Rodeo flip |
First done by York Shackleton. A back flip with a spin of 180°.(Rodeo 540 is a backflip 540, rodeo 720 is backflip 720 etc.,) |
|
| S |
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| Sad plant |
An invert with a sad grab (melon grab). |
| Sail Grab |
The rider faces fully forward with his/her forward side parallel with the ground. The back hand grabs the heel side in front of the front foot, the rear leg is then boned and the front leg is bent pushing the tail as vertically as possible into air. |
| Sato flip |
Halfpipe trick done by Rob Kingwill ("Sato" is the Japanese word for "sugar" ). It's something like a frontside McTwist. The rider drops in fast, rides up the transition as if doing a frontside 540, pops in the air and grabs frontside, then throws head, shoulders, and hips down. |
| Seatbelt |
The front hand reaches across the body and grabs the toe edge behind the back binding. |
| Shane Ray |
Named after a snowboard failure, cousin to Brandon Crass, rear hand grabs back of binding front hand grabs toe of boot AKA the gay. |
| Shifty |
A trick in which the rider twists his hip to rotate the board 90 degrees and then brings the board back to the original position, done frontside or backside. |
| Sidecut |
The curve cut into the sides of your board which help you to turn. |
| Sideslip |
A technique used for sliding or skidding down the hill with the board straight across the fall line by adjusting the angle of edging. |
| Sidewall |
The material on the sides of a snowboard used to protect and keep the internal layers in place. |
| Skating |
The act of moving around on flat surfaces with only the front foot attached to the board by pushing with the free rear foot. |
| Sketch |
Having your snowboard slide out from beneath you after a turn or jump. |
| Skidding |
Moving sideways or forward by working with the edges of your board across the snow to control your speed. |
| Slalom |
A competition where riders race by turning around gates in a set route. |
| Slam |
A heavy duty fall. |
| Slob air |
The frontside air where the front hand grabs mute, the back leg is boned and the board is kept parallel with the ground. |
| Snowboard Stomp Pad |
A pad placed with an adhesive just in front of the rear foot on the snowboard to provide traction to a free rear foot when skating or gliding off chairlifts. |
| Snurfer |
The snowboard's predecessor. Built in the 1960s for snow surfing, they would mark the beginning of snowboard construction and engineering. |
| Soup |
A trick in which the rider pops an ollie, and lands on the nose of the board. Beginners learn this trick by tailpressing and then switching to a nosepress very fast. |
| Spinal Tap |
The heel edge equivalent of a face plant where you fall hard on your back after catching your heel edge. |
| Squirrel, Flying |
The rider faces fully forward and both hand grab the heel side near the bindings. |
| Squirrel, Psycho |
A flying squirrel were the rider faces fully forward, then grabs the high back of the bindings. |
| Stalefish |
Back hand grabs the heel edge of the board at the back foot, around the outside of the knee. |
| Stance Angle |
The angle of of your bindings on your snowboard. |
| Stiffy |
Any grab where both the legs are boned. Usually done with a mute or indy grab. |
| Superman |
The rider lays flat in the air, both hands reach under the board to grab the toe side and/or the shin of each boot, both legs are bent and the board is pulled up behind the rider. |
| Supersquirrel |
A variation of both the superman and the psycho squirrel. The rider lays flat in the air, both hands grab the high back of the bindings and/or the shin of each boot, both knees are bent pulling the board up behind the rider. |
| Swiss Cheese Air |
The rear hand reaches between the legs and grabs the heel edge in front of the front foot while the back left is boned. |
| Switch |
Performing a trick while riding backwards/fakie. |
|
| T |
|
| Tail |
The back end of a snowboard. |
| Tail slide |
Lifting the nose of the board and sliding on the tail while on the ground. |
| Tailfish |
This is similar to the Tindy. Back hand grab on heel edge between rear binding and tail, often tweaked. Slight more respect than tindy. |
| Tailgrab |
Back hand grabs the tail of the board. |
| Taipan air |
The front hand reaches behind the front foot and grabs the toe edge between the bindings. The front knee is then bent to touch the board tuck knee style. |
| Terrain Park |
An area specially constructed for freestyle riders to perform their tricks, jumps and spins. |
| Tindy |
The Tindy grab is a controversial grab. The back hand grabs between the tail and the back binding on the toe edge. Some find this trick to be a beginner's trick, while some believe that when tweaked, the Tindy is very stylish. |
| Tip |
The upturned front end of a snowboard. Also known as the nose. |
| Toe Edge |
The edge of your board under your toes. |
| Toe Side |
A turn made using the toe edge. |
| Topsheet |
The top layer used in the construction of a snowboard. |
| Traverse |
A maneuver for moving diagonally across the fall line. |
| Truck Driver, BS |
The rider grabs Melon and Stalefish at the same time putting the arms in the BS spin direction also known as a drunk driver. |
| Truck Driver, FS |
The rider grabs Indy and Mute at the same time putting the arms in the FS spin direction. |
| Twin Tip Snowboard |
A snowboard with an identical nose/tip and tail usually used by freestyle riders for riding in both directions. |
|
| V |
|
| Vertical |
The vertical sections of the wall of a halfpipe. |
|
| W |
|
| Wall |
The transition and vertical sides of a halfpipe. |
| Wax |
Lubricant used for the base of snowboards to allow smoother and faster riding. |
| Wildcat |
A version of a backflip where you flip like a cart-wheel in the air, not shifting or turning sideways at all. |
| Wipe out |
A spectacular fall. |
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