Annoying Ski Lingo?

On its Facebook wall, Arapaho Basin asks, “What are some ski, snowboard and telemark words that annoy you? We don’t like A-Bay.”  It’s drawn over 100 comments.

I’ve been to Arapaho Basin twice, but I’ve never heard the term “A-Bay.” I have, though, used the term “A-Basin,” which has drawn the ire of some people.

Here are some that items that stand out to me as interesting, and, in some cases, annoying. But there are too few ski (ride) days to get worked up about any of them. The list is more of a mental exercise than anything.

Avy. Not much of a concern in the Midwest, where I spend most of my time.

Bra. Isn’t “dude” good enough?

Epic. The current version of “awesome,” I guess.

Gaper. As long as there have been humans, there have been terms that some people use to disparage others. Nothing new here.

Gnar.

Knuckle dragger. I must confess to having used this to describe myself, in, well, mock mocking. Adam M. Croom, a professor of linguistics, among others, has observed that “Slurs are frequently picked up and appropriated by the very in-group members that the slur was originally intended to target.”

Local.

Packed powder. In the Midwest, we groom the powder, when it arrives, into submission.

Pow-Pow. I’m surprised someone didn’t mention “freshies,” which struck me as strange when I read it in a book published in 1996.

Shredding.

Stoked.

Steez.

Congratulations to Kyle Yost, who managed to combine four terms into one phrase: “”Shred the gnar bra, this is going to be an epic day!”

Word!