Pretty much the only ‘community’ I’m in that’s unique (not as general as “my age group”) is snowboarding. I love snowboarding. It’s a passion. I grew up in the mountains, about forty minutes from Loveland (ski area) and twenty minutes from Eldora. Not very big ski areas, but good places to learn. My high school did not have class on Fridays, so I went snowboarding every Friday and Sunday during the ski season – religiously. If I couldn’t find anyone to go with, I’d go alone, which wasn’t as fun, but very relaxing. Chillin to some music while riding on three feet of fresh powder, going my own speed, choosing my line… I can’t wait for this season, but this is the first year since I began at thirteen that I won’t be buying a season pass – I can’t justify spending the money when my son needs clothes and food more than I need to snowboard. I’ll probably do some backcountry though (yes, Mom, I have a avalanche training and a beacon).
Anyway, alright. On to the assignment. I developed much of the slang and technical terms for snowboarding working at Eldora last season as a ski and snowboard instructor. Also, my group of friends definitely has our own unique language. I’ll distinguish between technical terms, the words that anyone in the industry (making them) or profession (riding them) would know, and also the lingo, words that are probably relevant to my age group of snowboarders. The first thing I taught my classes was the names of the various parts of a board. So, when I told them to put pressure on their heelside edge, they would know what I meant. The heelside is the long edge of the snowboard that is at the back of your foot; conversely, the edge in front is the toeside. When you put pressure on your heels or toes, you turn forward or back; alternating pressure will allow you to carve, the S-shaped motion that riders perform as they travel down the slope. More pressure allows for a tighter turn, or carve. There are also heelbacks, a very important part of the board that most people overlook; these are the parts that can fold down to the board and determine how much your ankle leans forward or back; again, more forward lean means you will turn sharper on your toeside but you will need more pressure to turn heelside. Most of this is best explained visually.
So, we have the terms that deal with the mechanics. Now, on to the fun stuff. ‘Shred’ is a very common term. It relates to ‘carve;’ images of cutting, or slicing, which is pretty much what the sharp edges of a board (or skis) do to the snow. I suppose it’s a verb, as in “Hey bro, let’s go shred some pow!” (pow is just short for powder) “Shred the gnar!” is one my friends and I use, kind of as a joke, like to mock the 90’s surfer slang. (I guess ‘gnar’ is gnarly, as in rough, tough terrain… or something.) “Chill uphill, thrill downhill” is pretty much our philosophy when we go riding, one of my friends came up with in a rare moment of (probably inebriated) brilliance. You get to relax on the chairlift up, then you go bomb the hill. ‘Bomb’ is pretty obvious, you go way too fast and scare (and almost destroy) old ladies and tiny children meandering across the ski slope. One last word: a recent addition to our vocabularious arsenal is “steazy.” I love this word. It means ‘someone who wears something completely outdated, ugly, off-color, retro, or just weird… and can pull it off. Someone wearing a pink leotard and green goggles and an 80’s hair-band wig… but they get respect, man, cuz they can shred the gnar and bomb the hill and throw down a cab-540 and a rodeo in the same run. (the tricks are a whole ‘nother story).
That was fun, but I guess I should write something scholarly… These words show an “I get it” attitude toward the sport. They represent that we appreciate the 80’s fashion and we can talk about these things in the middle of summer to our friends, and someone from Miami has no clue what we’re saying. Which is good. Because Florida sucks. Anyone, young and old, can appreciate the ski/snowboard lifestyle, a lifestyle of kicking back in the parking lot with a beer while you grill some burgers. Of riding in the spring with no shirt on because it feels so good, so exhilarating, to wipe out going thirty miles an hour on slush… with a sunburn. The clean, fresh air, the sounds of edges carving on snow, they’re all part of a specific lifestyle, the Colorado skiers and riders, of people who just love to be outside even in January when it’s 15 below.
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2 comments:
I am glad you started your blog with the S figure term from snowboarding. But, I am not sure how glad I was when I rocked back and forth while I read the whole thing feeling myself go down the hill on a snowpacked day. I felt somewhat silly. But, none-the-less, your instructional language, not just naming the terms, but actually teaching them made me feel included, as if I was your student. It is interesting how you mentioned terms that create a community in the slopes but also can alianate others (Floridians). From the standpoint of a future teacher, we must understand that not only do we have to deal with different students and their various forms of discourse, but we also need to create an environment where we aren't using discourse that alianates our students.
...Not to say that you plan or will do that in your classroom. What I meant to say is that training ourselves to be inclusive instead of exclusive is something that we must practice starting now.
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