A Skier's Dictionary
Alp
One of a number of places to ski in Europe. Also a shouted request for
assistance made by a European skier.
Bindings
Automatic mechanisms that protect skiers from potentially serious injury during
a fall by releasing
skis from boots, sending the skis skittering across the slope where they trip
two other skiers, and so
on and on, eventually causing the entire slope to be protected from serious
injury.
Bones
Brittle things of which there are 206 in the human body. No need for dismay,
however. There are two
bones of the middle ear that have never been broken in a ski accident.
Cross-Country Skiing
Traditional Scandinavian all-terrain snow-travelling technique. It's good
exercise. It doesn't require
the purchase of costly lift tickets. It has no crowds or lines. It isn't
skiing. See Cross-country
Something-or-other.
Cross-Country Something-or-other
Touring on skis along trails in scenic wilderness, gliding through snow-hushed
woods far from the
hubbub of the ski slopes, hearing nothing but the whispery hiss of the skis
slipping through snow and
the muffled tinkle of car keys dropping into the puffy powder of a deep,
wind-sculpted drift.
Exercises
A few simple warm-ups to make sure you're prepared for the slopes:
-Tie a cinder block to each foot with old belts, and climb a flight of stairs.
-Sit on the outside of a second-storey window ledge with your skis on and your
poles in your lap for
30 minutes.
-Bind your legs together at the ankles, lie flat on the floor; then, holding a
banana in each hand, get
to your feet.
Gloves
Hand coverings designed to be tight enough around the wrist to restrict
circulation, but not so close-
fitting as to allow any manual dexterity. They should also admit moisture from
the outside without
permitting any dampness from within to escape.
Inertia
Tendency of a skier's body to resist changes in direction or speed due to the
action of Newton's First
Law of Motion. Goes along with three other physical laws:
-Two objects of greatly different mass falling side by side will have the same
rate of descent, but
the lighter one will have larger hospital bills.
-Matter can neither be created or destroyed, but if it drops out of a parka
pocket, don't expect to
encounter it again in our universe.
-When an irresistible force meets an immovable object, an unethical lawyer will
immediately
appear.
Prejump
Manoeuvre in which an expert skier makes a controlled jump just ahead of a
bump. Beginners may execute a controlled prefall just before losing their
balance and, if they
wish, can precede it with a prescream and a few pregroans.
Shin
The bruised area on the front of the leg running from the point where the ache
from the wrenched knee ends to that where the soreness from the strained ankle
begins.
SKI!
A shout made to alert people ahead that a loose ski is coming down the hill.
Another warning skiers should be familiar with is "Avalanche!" which tells
everyone that a hill
is coming down the hill.
Skier
One who pays an arm and a leg for the opportunity to break them.
Slalom
A competitive event in which skiers run a course marked out with gates. The
word slalom means "slope tracks," and it comes from Norway. So do many other
common skiing
terms, including
ööps
(a fall),
fløö
(a bad cold),
gløpp
(food served at a mountain lunch spot),
bjerk
(a show-off) and
blâmmø
(a collision with a tree).
Stance
The appropriate posture when you are ready to start skiing. Your knees should
be flexed, but shaking slightly, your arms straight and covered with a good
layer of goose
flesh; your hands forward, palms clammy, knuckles white and fingers icy; your
eyes a little
crossed and darting in all directions. Your lips should be quivering, and you
should be mumbling
"Why?"
Thor
Thcandinavian god of acheth and painth.
Traverse
To ski across a slope at an angle; one of two quick and simple methods of
reducing speed.
Tree
The other method.
from
Skiing: A Skier's Dictionary
Henry Beard and Roy McKie
The other method of reducing speed.
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