Is there a designated place on PUG where materials from Epic can be saved temporarily pending a more deliberate effort to organize them?
For example, Barnes' Glossary:
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Performance Articles › The Complete Encyclopedia of Skiing—EpicSki Skiing Glossary
The Complete Encyclopedia of Skiing—EpicSki Skiing Glossary
By:
Bob Barnes
Posted 12/29/12 • Last updated 3/28/17 • 76,745 views
This project presents a brief and concise glossary of many common skiing and ski teaching concepts, including both contemporary and historical terms. It is by no means a complete list. For more in-depth coverage of these concepts and many more, see the original
The Complete Encyclopedia of Skiing, Third Edition, by Bob Barnes, currently available in PDF e-book format through EpicSki.com (PM
@Bob Barnes directly).
In addition to brief definitions, this glossary includes a few explanatory images, as well as links to the ever-growing collection of video clips in my Vimeo.com channel,
“The Complete Encyclopedia of Skiing.”
Click here to enter the Vimeo.com channel of The Complete Encyclopedia of Skiing.
This article is a living, growing document that I will update regularly as time allows. Much of it was written originally in or before 1998. Modern ski shapes were just coming into the mainstream, and the current trends of freestyle, park and pipe, and “big-mountain” competitions were but distant blips on the radar. New technologies, new techniques, new understanding, and new trends continuously add to the lexicon, while some terms have fallen into disuse or even seen a shift in common meaning. There is much work to be done, and It is a constant labor to keep this document current. Stay tuned!
I welcome suggestions for additional terms, and I encourage discussion of any of these terms and concepts in the forums of EpicSki. Please begin with a post to the thread,
The Complete Encyclopedia of Skiing EpicSki Glossary project discussion, but do not hesitate also to start new threads for deeper exploration.
Except where otherwise noted, all opinion and content here, including words, images, animations, and video, is mine alone, and may not represent the opinions of EpicSki.com or any of its representatives or owners—or anyone else, for that matter! Skiing is a fluid, dynamic, and diverse activity, and healthy differences of opinion and perspective not only exist, but provide the basis for vigorous and productive discussion. As I always say in clinics and lessons,
do not believe anything I tell you! (And don't believe anything anyone else tells you either. Indeed--question even your own most strongly held beliefs.) It is only through challenging statements and questioning that real understanding develops. Knowledge (merely the bottom rung on the ladder to understanding—see "Bloom's Taxonomy," below) begins with accepting answers. Understanding begins with questions! I welcome the discussion.
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Important Note:
Except as specifically noted, all content herein is copyrighted material, with all rights reserved. Also included are certain trademarked terms of PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America™) and other entities, as noted. All opinions expressed in this article are exclusively those of the author, and may or may not represent the policies or opinions of any other person or organization.
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A-Frame
“knock-kneed” stance that often indicates insufficient inside leg activity, or a need for canting or boot adjustment
Abduction
movement of leg or other body part AWAY from a center axis (“legs apart”)
Adduction (body part movement toward a center line) and Abduction (movement away from a center line).
Ability
Unlike “skills,” which are learned, abilities involve both learned and innate components and are less specific to a particular activity; think “skiing skills” but natural “athletic ability”
Ability Level
How good are you? What is an "expert"? These questions are so subjective that they are impossible to answer definitively. But ski schools have long attempted to classify skiing ability as objectively as possible, primarily to simplify the process of placing students in the right classes. PSIA has adopted a 1-9 level description hoping to standardize the process, but many ski schools these days use their own proprietary descriptions of skill level.
Here is my general description, intended to parallel or complement the PSIA levels 1-9. It describes terrain, conditions, and situations in which a skier is "comfortable and confident"--not just what the skier can get down. It describes "offensive" technique--using gliding turns to control line, and tactics (that is, line) to control speed, as opposed to relying on braking and skidding for speed control. Recognizing that "wedge" and "parallel" in contemporary skiing are not distinct techniques or turn options, it describes these characteristics as representative "milestones" of advancing skill involving the same fundamental technical principles. It suggests that "challenge" is not so much about what terrain you can survive, but about continuous improvement and how well you can ski any particular terrain, including easiest green groomed runs (see Level 9). Finally, it emphasizes technique as a means to an end--athleticism and skill, not "final form"--and values versatility, adaptability, and virtuosity over "perfection" of any single particular technique.
Skier Ability Level guide. (Click on the image for a larger version.)
Absorption
flexion and extension movements, often necessarily vigorous, used to smooth out bumps and other terrain variations; the French term "avalement," meaning "to swallow," describes the large, active, intentional movements required to absorb large moguls
The flexiing and extending movements of absorption in large bumps involve both "up-down" and fore-aft movements, resulting in a motion of the feet relative to the body that resembles "backpedaling" on a bicycle.
The "backpedal motion" of absorption in real moguls; skier: competitor at Copper Mountain
Abstem
a “downstem”—lateral displacement of the tail of the downhill ski; especially (but not necessarily) an unintentional downstem at the end of a turn in an attempt to set an edge
Abstem—note the outside (left) ski tail slipping out and away in frame 8, as a result of upper body rotation at the turn initiation.
Accelerated Frame of Reference
the skier’s point of view—the usual frame of reference when analyzing (or experiencing) ski technique, in which centrifugal and other inertial forces are “real” forces that the skier must act to balance against; compare with “inertial frame of reference”
Acceleration
a change in speed or direction of motion (a change in velocity); results when (and only when) an unbalanced external motive force applies to an object.
Unlike common usage, the strict physics definition of acceleration goes beyond just increasing speed to include any change in motion--including slowing down, or changing direction even with no change in speed. Any time a force acts unopposed (an "unbalanced force") on an object, the result will be the same thing: the object will accelerate. Whether it gains or loses speed or changes direction, or any combination, depends entirely on the direction of the force relative to the object's motion.
Acute Mountain Sickness
"AMS," or "altitude sickness," refers to a variety of symptoms and effects, ranging from mild to life-threatening, that can result from the thinner, drier air of high elevations above 6,000 feet (2,000 meters). Likelihood and severity of symptoms increase with increasing altitude.
For more information, refer to Dr. Dave Polaner's excellent EpicSki article,
Altitude Adaptation and Acute Mountain Sickness.
Adduction
movement of leg or other body part TOWARD a center axis (“legs together”); opposite of "Abduction." (See illustration under "Abduction.")
Aerial
AKA "jumps," aerials are skiing maneuvers performed in the air, typically involving "tricks" of some sort—spins, flips, grabs, and combinations, usually launched from a large bump, a cornice, or a purpose-built jump, usually (but not always!) intentionally.
Inverted Aerials. Olympic medalist (moguls) Bryon Wilson, World Moguls Champion Patrick Deneen, freestyle ace Sammy Carlson, Patrick Deneen
Upright aerials: Cossack Spread Eagle and MuleKick BackScratcher (Willi Furr), Daffy (PhilPug).
All images © Bob Barnes.
AFD
Anti-Friction Device—a part of modern ski bindings intended to reduce release-inhibiting friction under the boot toe from, especially, a forward twisting fall. It is often a small, slippery plate made of plastic or Teflon®-type material that the boot toe rests on, and some bindings incorporate a mechanical device of various sorts that moves with the boot.
An AFD on a Vist plate binding.
Affective Domain
Part of the CAP Model ("Cognitive-Affective-Psychomotor"), the affective domain of learning and development encompasses emotion, motivation, valuing, and commitment to learning. The CAP Model attempts to define hierarchical or sequential phases of development, from lowest to highest, in each domain. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs represents one interpretation of the Affective Domain, specifically identifying a hierarchy of situational needs, with the suggestion that each higher level depends upon the levels below it being met or satisfied:
Maslow's Hierarchy of Motivational Needs
Alignment
refers to positions of various body parts and how they move relative to each other when skiing; varies according to the specific mechanics of each turn; good alignment is essential for efficient and safe skiing.
"Alignment" also refers to the various concerns of specialized boot fitting and equipment setup intended to adapt unique individual body morphologies to the specific demands of skiing. Major issues include correcting for over-pronation and over-supination, addressing ankle function and range of motion, optimizing forward lean, and correcting for "under-edged" or "over-edged" conditions.
AMS
Acute Mountain Sickness (see), also commonly known as "altitude sickness."
Angular Momentum
property of a rotating object that describes its “quantity” of rotation; a function of its speed and direction of rotation, and the amount and distribution of its mass
Angular Motion
the motion of objects revolving or spinning about an axis
The spinning, twisting, and rotating movements of angular motion, as opposed to movement along a path from one place to another known as linear motion.
Angulation
Sideways bending movements of the ankles, knees, hips, or spine that allow control and adjustment of edge angle, angulation is one of two movement types that affect edge angle and tipping of the skis. See also "
inclination" (leaning the center of mass into the turn for balance, which may occur in company with angulation or not) and "
banking" (the special case of inclination without angulation, or leaning the entire body into the turn).
Angulation; skiers: Annie Black (left) and "Tog"
Anticipation
countered, “wound-up” arrangement of the upper and lower body prior to a turn; creates tension in the muscles that, when released, helps initiate the turn
Anticipation-Release; skier: "Tog" at Arapahoe Basin
Applied Force
the push or pull that causes change in motion (acceleration); also known as “motive force” (compare with “inertial force”)
AT
"Alpine Touring"—refers to specific equipment for, as well as the activity of, climbing uphill and skiing on skis with "AT bindings" that allow the boot heels to lift for easier hiking and then lock the heels down to enable skiing downhill with standard alpine technique.
ATS™ (American Teaching System™)
PSIA’s humanistic ski-teaching scheme that incorporates the Skills Concept™, a Teaching Model based on established educational principles, the Center Line™ Skiing Model, and a model for Guest Service
Avalement
active absorption movements, as in “swallowing” moguls, involving deep flexing and extending movements of the entire body
Instructor Annie Black swallows a bump with "avalement." Notice her similar movements below in heavy, wind-blown crud at Snowmass (in green) and in Laure Pequegnot's winning World Cup slalom run at Copper Mountain:
Banking
inclination (tipping) of the entire body into a turn, with little or no angulation. Banking is
not the same thing as "inclination," which refers to leaning (moving the center of mass) into a turn for balance. Inclination occurs in all turns that require balance—on skis, bicycles, or walking and running. Angulation refers to sideways (more or less) bending of the body, generally to adjust or control edge angle. Inclination and angulation are separate and independent—one a move of the center of mass, the other movements of body parts relative to each other—and good skiing demands management of both, independently. Banking is merely the special case of inclination without angulation.
Annie Black, showing that banking is not always an error!
Banking is sometimes considered an error, particularly when accompanied by rotation of the upper body. But many high-performance turns involve significant banking. When the inclination due to speed and turn radius provides sufficient edge angle on its own, very little angulation is needed to keep the skis holding and carving (see "critical edge angle").
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B through Z to follow.