A certain creative young man suggested a blog idea. Find the definitions for a few of 2007’s new ski names. Black Diamond has some of the more interesting monikers so we’ll start with those. Everyone chime in on the comments if you can come up with something for these or other brands. Here goes:
Verdict
The finding or answer of a jury given to the court concerning a matter submitted to their judgment, e.g., skiing a closed area.
Havoc
Great destruction or devastation; ruinous damage. Frequently caused by avalanches.
Kilowatt
A unit of power equal to 1,000 watts. Lithuanian: Kilovatas. Works well for measuring your contribution to global warming.
Zealot
A member of a radical, warlike, ardently patriotic group of Jews in Judea, particularly prominent from a.d. 69 to 81, advocating the violent overthrow of Roman rule and vigorously resisting the efforts of the Romans and their supporters to heathenize the Jews. Still looking for equivalent example in the ski community. Telemarkers, or Dynafitters?
Stigma
The eyespot of a protozoan, or the sticky part of a plant’s reproductive organ.
Voodoo
Characterized by deceptively simple, almost magical, solutions or ideas, e.g., “voodoo skiing.”
Cult
A religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader. Alta, or a certain group near Nelson, BC?
Joule
The SI unit of work or energy, equal to the work done by a force of one newton when its point of application moves through a distance of one meter in the direction of the force: equivalent to ten to the seventh power ergs and one watt-second. Skiing in a TGR movie requires one Joule energy expenditure per straightline.
Velvet
The soft, deciduous covering of a growing deer antler.
Machine
A person or thing that acts in a mechanical or automatic manner, e.g., “the last thing Bode Miller wants to be called is a boo-bashing machine.”
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
