Tabernac [Taah-buhr-nahc] noun: A good old swear, always good for anything that pisses you off!
Tail [teyl] noun The upturned portion of a snowboard at its trailing end when it is heading in a forward direction.
Tailblock [teyl blohk] noun Planting the nose or tail of your board like an ice pick into the cold snow below, holding it for a moment, then popping back off and riding away.
Tail Grab [teyl grab] noun With your back hand, fully extend your reach and latch onto the tail.
Tail-tap [tale tapp] noun: Tapping your tail on the end of the feature you are jibbing before you come off.
Tail-tap Revert [tale tapp ree-vurt] noun: Tapping your tail and rotating 180˚ or 360˚ when you come off the feature you are jibbing.
Tailpress [tale-prehs] noun: Ollieing onto a feature and landing on your tail while focusing most of your weight over your back foot. “The beaver has a mean tailpress.”
Takeoff [tÇk?ôf] noun The portion of a jump that ramps upward to provide a trajectory away from the slope.
Tapered [Taep-uurd] adj: Any deck design wider at its forward contact points than its rear ones. Commonly referred to as a “Fish” shape, most manufacturers have an all-mountain freeriding model featuring this tapered geometry in their board lines.:
T-Bar [Tee Bahr] noun: Brought into service to replace the J- and L-Bars, T-Bars are similar to Poma lifts, except the round disc that one sits on is replaced by a flat bar which can accommodate two users. Of course, everyone knows that users are losers, so just say “no.”
Telemark [Tehl-uh-mahrk] noun: Skis that allow one’s heels to lift off of the topsheet during turn initiation. The entire idea of efficiency was thrown out the window with its inception, yet somehow this new-fangled variation to traditional skiing has spawned hordes of hacky-sacking summit-seekers that coo, “Free your heels and free your mind, bro.” Whatever—it’s still just cross-country skiing. Get over yourselves
Teaser [Tee-Suhrr] noun: A two-or- three minute trailer with footage from a soon-to-hit-the-shelves snowboard movie that is meant to titillate, tease, and pique the interest of the observer into purchasing the film when it comes out. “Did you see that teaser for the Lindsey Jacobellis documentary, Method to My Madness? It looks like fall-down fun!”
Ten Percent Rule (Ten Pur-cent Roo-uhl): When someone wins a purse of any sort, it is customary to donate ten percent of whatever you win to the party pot. If you win a car, you have to donate all four tires.
Texas Tuck [Tehx-uhs Tuhk] noun: At the height of World Cup skiing’s popularity, the Cold War spilled out onto the slopes as Eastern Bloc skiers tried to avenge the USSR’s loss to the American hockey team at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. Many speculated that the East German women’s World Cup downhill team included a few male competitors. The unique procedure used by these “he/shes” to maintain a gender-neutral form in their speed suits was coined the “Texas Tuck” by Alberto Tomba.
Theft of Services [Thehpht Uhv Ser-vis-siz] noun: The offense that most people caught clipping tickets are guilty of.
Thumbs Up (Thum-zuh Up-puh): Riders who know they are in the middle of a sick trick are always in discussions with the photographer. Nicolas is telling Blom that it will be a sick shot. And a thumbs up to you too, Nicolas
Tight (Tyyyy-yyyy-tuh) adjective Literally and figuratively, this adjective serves to compliment one’s steeze, from pants to underwear, tricks to headgear, and acne to form and flair on the stick. A tight ass is bad, but having tight-ass style is good. Get it? Tight!
Tiller [Tihl-luhrs] noun: An attachment that a snowcat drags behind it to even out and groom the snow. The working parts of a tiller consist of rotating metal wheels (similar to the front end of a snowblower) that break up the snow, and a heavy rubber mat to smooth out the slope. Usually associated with grooming, it is essential to the finish work of a terrain-park feature.
Tindy [tin-dee] noun A cop-out. With your trailing hand, grabbing feebly around the tail/indy area outside of the back binding. Widely used on ski-area trail maps and life insurance brochures.
Tool Up [Tuuuul Uhp] verb: Almost anything is tool up-able. One can tool up a sadat or two before a rail session, a stout, or a rail.
Toque [Toooook] noun A beanie or hat worn while snowboarding. Not to be confused with toke which is the act of inhaling hydroponic marijouna that was grown in someone’s basement in Kamloops.
Touchdown [Tuhch-dowwwwn] adj: When a landing has basically no impact, and you can barely feel it when you land. “Man, that landing is touchdown.”
Touring Ski [Toor-ihng Skee] noun:Touring skis are a holdover from the sport’s counterculture roots. In the mid 1960s, “high” country hippies who couldn’t afford to follow the Grateful Dead on tour would opt to ski from show to show, miracle-ing tickets in exchange for weed cookies and free hot waxes.
Towing In [toh-ing In] verb The act of pulling a rider into a rail or feature because the run-up lacks sufficient length or incline to gather speed.
Tow-In [toh-inn] verb: When a rider utilizes his friends to pull him to a feature via man-power.
Track [trak] noun The path left in a snowboard’s wake as it descends powder.
Track [Trahk] noun: The aluminum, rubber, and steel treads that provide the traction necessary to enable a snowcat to navigate on snow.
Tram [Trahm] noun: Short for aerial tramway. Basically, a gondola on steroids (without the backne). Instead of displacing the load over many vessels, a tram uses one or two large, boxlike containers to relay 60-200 people up to elevation.
Tranny Finder [Traeh-nee Fin-duhrr] adj: A gap with very little transition sought out in order to land properly without consequence. Not associated with that he/she giveaway, the Adam’s Apple. “That gap looks sick, but it’s kinda tranny finder, so be careful.”
Transceiver [trahn-see-vehr] noun A device that serves as a safety beacon by constantly transmitting the wearer’s location via a silent broadcast signal. Transceiver users can also set their devices to receive signals and then locate other lost, buried, or missing individuals via specific search protocols. Required equipment for out-of-bounds backcountry endeavors.
Transition [tran-zish-uhn] noun The portion of a jump, bank, or vertical feature’s takeoff or landing that arcs up from the slope. Commonly called a “tranny.”
Traverse [trah-ver-z] verb To navigate a slope directly across the fall line to access adjacent terrain.
Treeline [tree-lahyn] noun: The visible point where climate prohibits the growth of timber, either due to constant snowpack, increased air pressure, or lack of sunlight. In the upper latitudes, north-facing slopes are more susceptible to being devoid of trees than their southern- facing counterparts.
Triple Cork [Trih-puhll Kohrk] noun: Made popular by Norwegian Torstein Horgmo in June of 2010, the term “triple cork” is used to describe any trick where a rider somersaults both upside down and sideways for three complete revolutions. Not to be confused with a double cork, which only involves two revolutions, or The Cult’s Love album, which has just one “Revolution.”
Truck Driver [truhk drahy-ver] noun Grabbing melancholy and indy with both hands simultaneously.
Tuck[tuhk] verb Squatting into a compact wind-dodging ball of spandex and P-Tex in order to reach terminal velocity.
Tuck-Knee [tuk-nee]noun Grabbing and bending either knee down as hard as you can towards (or even onto) your board’s topsheet. Popularly combined with indies and mutes.
Tweak [tweek] adjective Grabbing one’s board in such an aggressive manner that it causes a person’s body to become contorted.
Twin [twin] noun A snowboard which has an identical nose and tail design.