It may be a stretch to say I’m standing on the shoulders of giants, but I’d be remiss if I did not give a shout out to the other alpine nerds who have created their own lists of snowboarding slang and skiing terminology.

Here’s a list of other useful sources for understanding skiing and snowboarding lingo, as well as the basics of snow and the cryosphere:

National Snow and Ice Data Center Cryosphere Glossary

An excellent source for information about snow is the National Snow and Ice Data Center. In addition to its glossary, the center’s website provides tons of knowledge on the cryosphere. It also provides an online bibliography of books about snow, avalanches, and related topics.

Skis.com Glossary of Ski Terms

In addition to its helpful articles, blogs, buying guides, and sizing guides, the skis.com website provides a great glossary with skiing and snowboarding slang and terminology.

The Story of Modern Skiing, by John Fry.

This 2006 book from the University Press of New England includes an extensive glossary on ski-related terms, many of them at risk of being lost to history. The author, John Fry, has also put this glossary online through the International Ski History Association.

National Avalanche Center Encyclopedia

The National Avalanche Center provides an excellent glossary and encyclopedia on avalanche terminology.  Created by Doug Abromeit, Bruce Tremper and many other avalanche professionals, this resource provides definitions of 74 terms along with many helpful graphics, photos, and diagrams.

Mogul Mick’s Understanding Skier’s Slang

Some of the terms appear to be of Mick’s making, but this glossary is quite extensive and has some slang I’d never heard of.

PureAlpine.com A-Z of Ski Slang Terms

Although shorter than some other online glossaries of snowboarding and skiing, this A-Z list of slang hits the most important terms.

Urban Dictionary

Be forewarned that this slang dictionary contains a lot of raunchy definitions and references to sex and drugs. Still, it’s a useful source for some slang terms that are common in skiing and snowboarding culture.

Cyberspace Avalanche Center Glossary

This glossary is based on scans of a variety of print sources that was subsequently checked and corrected by experts..

Encyclopedia Arctica Glossary of Snow, Ice, and Permafrost Terms

Thanks to the good folks at the Dartmouth College Library, this technical encyclopedia is online and available for anyone to browse. The library describes it as a 15-volume unpublished reference work. Seems like a lot of work to do and not publish it!

Suggestions welcome

There are some other sources out there that aren’t worth mentioning. But if you know of other such glossaries that explain skiing terminology, snowboarding slang, and snow-related words, please drop me a line on the contact page so I can add it to the list.