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A's
Air-to-Fakie
Any trick in the halfpipe where the wall is approached riding forwards, no rotation is made, and the snowboarder lands riding backwards.

Alley-oop
A term used to describe any maneuver in the halfpipe where one rotates 180 or more degrees in an uphill direction; that is, rotating backside on the frontside wall or rotating frontside on the backside wall.

Alpine Snowboarding
This term is most often used to describe riding a directional carving board with hardboots and plate bindings. Since there is no such thing as Nordic or cross-country snowboarding it is not used to describe snowboarding in general.

Andrecht
A rear handed backside handplant with a front handed grab.

Asymmetrical Sidecut
Snowboard sidecut design in which the toe edge and heel edge have different sidecut radii. In shifted asymmetrical sidecut boards the center of the heel sidecut radius is shifted farther back than the toe side radius in order to compensate for the center of weight distribution which differs between toe and heel edges.

B's

Backside
The backside of the snowboard is the side where the heels rest; and the backside of the snowboarder is the side to which his/her back faces.

Backside Air
Any air performed on the backside wall of the halfpipe.

Backside Rotation
A rotation in which your back the first thing to cross the vector in which you're traveling. i.e. clockwise for a regular-footer, and counter-clockwise for a goofy-footer.

Backside wall
If you ride straight down the pipe the backside wall is the wall that your back faces.

Bail
A term used to describe crashing or falling. e.g. "He bailed and landed on his head."

Banked Slalom
A slalom race course in which the turns around the gates are set up on snow banks. Originated at Mount Baker, Washington where the course is set through a ravine.

Baseless Bindings
Snowboard bindings without a base plate. Thus, one's boots are in direct contact with the top of the snowboard and are as close to the snow as possible. Some people say it gives them a better "feeling" of the snow and terrain beneath the board; hence, better control. Other say it's a silly sales gimmick.

Beat
A term used to describe something that is not good. e.g. "It's pretty beat that we have to shape the pipe all day."

Bevel
The degree of angle to which the edges of a snowboard are tuned. Snowboards used for racing and carving should have a greater bevel than say a snowboard used in the halfpipe.

BFM
See Elguerial

Blindside
A term given to any rotation where the snowboarder has oriented themselves "blind" to their takeoff or landing and must stretch to look over their shoulder. Such a technique usually increases the difficulty. (e.g. A backside alley oop air in the halfpipe is often harder than a frontside alley oop air because it is blindside).

Boarder Cross Competition
A race course in which gates have been set up through an obstacle course. It is a snowboarding version of a Motocross. Racers run head to head, usually in heats of four or six, over various jumps and banked turns.

Boned
A term used to explain the emphasis of style in a trick. In other words, if someone "boned out a method" they would grab hard and create an emphasis of the maneuver such that his/her legs or arms may appear extended or stretched to a maximum degree. To "Bone" means to straighten one or both legs.

Bonk
The act of hitting a no-snow object with the snowboard (e.g. A tail bonk could be hitting a picnic table with the tail of the snowboard).

Boost
A term used to describe catching air off of a jump. e.g. "He boosted ten feet out of the halfpipe."

Burger Flip
A halfpipe trick in which the rider performs a switch 180 to late McTwist. One approaches the backside wall riding fakie, rotates 180 degrees in the air, and then reenters the pipe while doing a McTwist. Invented by Todd Richards.

Bust
A term used the same as the verb "to do" only with more emphasis. e.g. "He busted a huge air over that tree."

C's

Caballerial (Cab)
A halfpipe trick which begins fakie, spins 360 degrees, and lands riding forward. Named after skateboarding guru, Steve Caballero. Also see Half-Cab and Gay Twist.

Camber
When a snowboard is placed on a flat surface, the center portion of the board is raised and it rests only on the tip and tail. This curvature in the snowboard effectively aids in turning. Camber is measured by looking at the amount of space between the center of the base and the flat surface on which it rests.

Canadian Bacon Air
The rear hand reaches behind the rear leg to grab the toe edge between the bindings while the rear leg is boned.

Cant
A term used to describe the angle at which either foot is positioned medial or lateral from a vertical axis. In other words, how much angle beneath your feet from side to side bends your knees together or apart.

Cap Construction
Snowboard construction in which the top sheet wraps around to the steel edges. Provides increased torsional stiffness over a traditional top sheet and is of a simpler and cleaner cosmetic design because it does not require sidewalls.

Centered Stance
Mounting the bindings on a snowboard such that there is the same distance between the tail and the rear binding as the nose and the front binding. This allows the board to be ridden backwards and forwards with similar control.

Chatter
When the snowboard vibrates unnecessarily. Usually this happens at higher speeds and through turns. Racers are always trying to reduce chatter in their boards so they can stay in control.

Chicken Salad Air
The rear hand reaches between the legs and grabs the heel edge between the bindings while the front leg is boned. Also, the wrist is rotated inward to complete the grab.

Coping
A reference to the edge of the lip which runs the length of a halfpipe wall. Borrowed from pool coping.

Corduroy
When a snowcat freshly grooms a trail it will leave a finely ridged surface. Corduroy is usual very nice for laying out clean turns.

Corkscrew
A term used to describe a very fast and tightly performed rotation, either free riding or in the halfpipe. A term used to describe any rotation which is off-axis.v

Crail Air
The rear hand grabs the toe edge in front of the front foot while the rear leg is boned.

Crater
A term used to describe a crash or fall. e.g. "He fell off the lift and cratered into a snow bank."

Crippler Air
An inverted aerial where the snowboarder performs a 180 degree flip. In other words, the athlete approaches a halfpipe wall riding forward, becomes airborne, rotates 90 degrees, flips over in the air, rotates another 90 degrees, and lands riding forward.

Crossbone Method Air
A Method Air where the back leg is boned. See Method Air.

Crooked Cop Air
Free riding version of the mosquito air. See Mosquito Air.

Cruiser Run
What you call making a relaxed and mellow run on a fairly smooth trail.

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