GLOSSARY SLIDE
Boots, Snowboard, ski, slide… Not always easy to find your way around…
A short background tour of the most common terms...
Freeride
If the difference between freeride and the good old off-piste seems trivial, it is in fact very important: in both cases it involves skiing beyond the markers and in powder snow if possible, but with freeride, the short-swing wedeln technique is nowhere to be seen!
Freeride skis are wider (from 70 mm at the waist to 90 mm for full-on freeride) with a tip that floats so that you can play with the slope: wide turns, "on the lip" turns... You can really get the max from the mountain thanks to an XXL surface area that is far greater than that of straight skis.
Freestyle
Freestyle has done away with the old split jumps. Freestyle skis have twin tips, a carving shape and a tendency to pivot, allowing you to carry out your wildest dreams. You set the limits...
This current trend is a mix of freeride and freestyle. Riders do tricks over off-piste kickers (backcountry), using natural elements such as combes, ledges, trees... Freestyle backcountry skis are wider than traditional freestyle skis because you ride and land in ungroomed snow
Skiercross
With skiercross, on-piste skiing has had a good dose of vitamins! Inspired by motocross, skiercross is a series of difficulties and obstacles over a marked course with gates, over which 4 skiers race at the same time. The first to arrive is the winner...
You can also race alone, against the clock!
Slope style
Slope style is to freestyle what skiercross is to the piste: a mix of ski styles. A slope style racecourse includes all of the freestyle events on one piste: quarters, table, rails and a half-pipe… Skiers have to ride over a series of these jumps. More comprehensive than the big air, slope style is becoming THE freestyle competition format, along with the half-pipe.
Controlled carved turns
Controlled carved turns require good technique and correct pressure. They are carried out completely on the edge of the ski for an impressive and fast turn. Parabolic skis make this difficult turn easier.