In my writings, I use a lot of sayings and words that might not be familiar to those who have never lived in a risk and adventure culture. I do my best to define them below:
BIG MOUNTAIN SKIING
Refers to a style of skiing that takes place on expansive, steep, and natural terrain—typically off-piste (outside of groomed resort runs) and often in backcountry or sidecountry zones. It emphasizes steep descents, technical lines, exposure, and natural features such as cliffs, chutes, and couloirs.
It’s less about racing gates or performing tricks and more about fluid, controlled skiing on big, consequential terrain where conditions are variable and the skier’s judgment and line choice matter as much as skill. In competitive terms, “big mountain” or “freeride” skiing is judged by line difficulty, control, technique, fluidity, and style.
Bridger Bowl qualifies as big mountain skiing, even though it’s smaller in vertical height than Big Sky or Jackson Hole. Bridger has extremely technical, avalanche-controlled ridge terrain (like the Ridge, Slushman’s, and Hidden Gully zones) that demand beacon, shovel, and probe for access. The vertical drop and sustained pitches rival or exceed many “bigger” resorts once you’re on those lines — it’s authentic big mountain skiing because of the exposure, terrain complexity, and mandatory skills required.
Big mountain skiing isn’t about the resort’s size — it’s about the terrain’s consequence and freedom. Bridger Bowl embodies that ethos as much as anywhere in North America.
FREERIDE SKIING
The purest, most expressive form of alpine skiing — a blend of big mountain, backcountry, and creative line-choice where the skier’s artistry and control define the experience more than gates, timers, or terrain-park jumps ever could.
At its core, freeride means skiing natural, ungroomed terrain — steeps, bowls, trees, cliffs, and powder fields — with no set course or rules. It’s about reading the mountain, choosing your own line, and linking turns, drops, and features in a way that flows naturally with the terrain and conditions.
In competition, freeride events (like those on the Freeride World Tour) are judged on five key criteria:
- Line choice – difficulty and creativity of the route.
- Control – maintaining composure and balance through challenging terrain.
- Fluidity – smoothness and rhythm of movement.
- Technique – form, precision, and efficiency.
- Air & style – amplitude, tricks, and overall expression.
In short:
Freeride skiing is the art of dancing with gravity — exploring natural terrain with freedom, creativity, and control.
Whereas big mountain skiing describes the terrain itself (steep, consequential lines), freeride captures the philosophy and flow — the mindset of turning the whole mountain into a blank canvas.
Bridger Bowl, with its avalanche-controlled ridge terrain and emphasis on self-reliance, is a textbook example of a freeride mountain: authentic, raw, and expressive.
Putting Down the Landing Gear (Skiing Slang)
A move in freestyle & freeride skiing where, during an inverted aerial, you pull your legs back underneath you just before touchdown. It’s that crucial moment when chaos becomes control—preparing your body to meet the snow with balance and stability rather than crash out. Skiers use it to describe sticking the landing after going big.
Retirement planning – A metaphor for the transition into retirement. “Putting down the landing gear” means gradually getting your financial legs under you—shifting from full-throttle earning years into a stable descent. That includes saving steadily, building a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds, and setting up predictable income streams. Like in skiing, it’s about making sure you land smoothly, not wipe out, when it’s time to stop flying and touch down into retirement.
Rails on Edge (skiing / life)
Skiing: Carving turns with precision by tipping the skis onto their edges, letting the rails bite into the snow for control and speed.
Life: Choosing to live with sharp focus and deliberate direction—balanced, yet always close to risk. Riding the fine edge between control and chaos.
Reverse camber (also called rocker)
A ski or snowboard design where the center of the ski or board touches the snow, and the tip and tail rise up off the ground — the opposite of traditional camber.
Here’s a breakdown:
- Traditional camber: The ski bows upward in the middle when laid flat. When weighted, it flattens, creating strong edge grip and pop.
- Reverse camber: The ski or board has a continuous downward curve (like a banana). This shape helps it float more easily in soft snow and makes it easier to pivot or smear turns.
In practice:
Reverse camber skis are great for powder, freeride, and big-mountain skiing because they keep the tips from diving and allow smooth, surfy turns. On hardpack or ice, though, they generally offer less edge hold than cambered skis.
SEND IT (verb — slang, imperative)
1. Adventure Sports & Skiing
To commit fully to a daring move, jump, or line without hesitation; to go all-in on speed, risk, or style. Often used in skiing, snowboarding, biking, and other action sports when someone chooses bold execution over cautious restraint.
Example: “The cliff looks huge, but if the landing’s soft—I’m just gonna send it.”
2. Entrepreneurialism & Creative Process
To embrace risk and opportunity with confidence and decisive action; to launch an idea, project, or venture without waiting for perfect conditions. Embodies the mindset that momentum and courage often matter more than perfection.
Example: “I didn’t know if the business plan was perfect, but it felt right, so I decided to send it.”
Synonyms: go for it, all-in, commit, launch, push forward.
Usage Note: While born in the lexicon of extreme sports, send it has expanded into entrepreneurial and creative culture as shorthand for living boldly, trusting intuition, and acting decisively in moments of uncertainty.
Shaped skis (also called parabolic skis or carving skis)
Skis designed with a pronounced sidecut — meaning they are much wider at the tip and tail and narrower at the waist.
This hourglass shape allows the ski to naturally carve turns when tipped on edge. Instead of skidding or forcing a turn, the ski’s curved edge follows an arc through the snow, making turning smoother, easier, and more precise.
Key points:
- Introduced widely in the mid-1990s, shaped skis revolutionized skiing technique.
- They make it easier for beginners to learn to turn and for advanced skiers to carve clean arcs.
- Compared to traditional straight skis, shaped skis require less effort, shorter turn radius, and give better edge grip on hard snow.
In short:
Shaped skis are modern skis with a curved sidecut that helps the ski carve turns naturally rather than skid — a major evolution from the long, straight skis of the past.
Sidecut
The hourglass shape of a ski — the difference in width between the tip (front), waist (middle), and tail (back).
That curved shape allows the ski to carve turns:
- When you tip the ski on edge, the sidecut naturally forms an arc, and the ski follows that curved path through the snow.
- The deeper the sidecut (bigger difference between tip/waist/tail widths), the tighter the turn radius — meaning the ski can make quicker, more responsive turns.
- A shallower sidecut (more straight-sided) creates a longer turn radius, which is more stable at high speeds and better for big mountain or powder skiing.
In short:
Sidecut is the built-in curvature of a ski that determines how easily and how tightly it can carve a turn.
Would you like me to include a diagram showing how sidecut relates to turn radius?
Underfoot
This refers to the section of a ski directly beneath the skier’s boot — the narrowest, flattest part of the ski, also called the waist.
This area is crucial because it’s where power and pressure are transferred from the skier to the snow. It influences how the ski behaves in different conditions:
- Narrow underfoot (≈ 65–85 mm): Quicker edge-to-edge transitions, ideal for groomed runs and carving.
- Mid-width (≈ 86–100 mm): Versatile for mixed conditions — both groomers and soft snow.
- Wide underfoot (≈ 101+ mm): More surface area for floatation in powder, but slower edge-to-edge on hardpack.
In short:
Underfoot is the width and design of the ski beneath your boot — it determines how quickly a ski can edge, how stable it feels, and how well it floats in different snow types.
Tomahawk
In ski slang, “tomahawk” means to wipe out so hard that you start flipping and cartwheeling head-over-heels down the slope — like a spinning tomahawk axe.
It’s different from a normal crash because:
- You gain momentum as you tumble (your skis, poles, and sometimes goggles go flying).
- It usually happens on steep terrain, often after catching an edge or losing balance mid-air.
- Skiers might say: “He tomahawked all the way down the face” or “I took a tomahawk in the pow and lost a ski halfway down.”
Basically: a tomahawk is a spectacular, end-over-end crash that looks both painful and impressive — the ultimate yard sale.
Yardsale
In ski slang, a “yard sale” is when a skier crashes and scatters their gear all over the slope — skis, poles, goggles, hat, gloves, everything — like someone’s holding a garage sale right on the mountain.
It’s usually a spectacular but funny wipeout, not necessarily dangerous, and you’ll often hear other skiers jokingly shout, “Yard sale!” from the lift when it happens.
In short:
A yard sale = a big crash + all your stuff spread across the hill.