Ski and snowboard glossary, A to Z.

Definitions here say what a term means and who uses it; they are not instructions. Skiing and riding technique, binding release settings, boot fitting, tuning and waxing, avalanche rescue and snowpack assessment, and anything to do with an injured person are matters for a qualified instructor, an avalanche course, a qualified guide or a doctor. Any injury, a suspected concussion, frostbite, hypothermia or altitude sickness needs medical care. Avalanche danger levels are given as the avalanche centres publish their scales; nothing here replaces an avalanche course, a current local avalanche forecast or a qualified guide.

The disciplines are different sports, so their terms are kept apart, and every rule names its body, its document and its edition. Alpine competition-format figures come from the FIS alpine International Competition Rules of July 2020, because the current alpine edition was not read; snowboard, freestyle and freeski figures from the June 2026 ICR; cross-country from the October 2023 ICR; and ski jumping and Nordic combined from FIS-hosted marked-up copies, so those figures are labelled unconfirmed. FIS equipment rules come from the 2025/26 and 2026/27 specifications, with the changes between them. ISO editions come from catalogue entries seen in search results, because iso.org could not be opened. Standards entries say what a standard tests; whether a product meets it, and whether it is allowed in a race, is for the standard, the body's rule and the officials who check it. Where sources disagree, each version is given with who says it. Events are as the research recorded them on 24 October 2026.

Jump to: 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y Z

0-9

10 FIS Rules for Conduct

FIS's older title for its code of conduct for people on the slopes. FIS's 1967 congress in Beirut distributed advice and rules for circulation on skis; resort pages seen only in search summaries say the ten rules were first drawn up that year, which the FIS page does not say. The copy found is marked as approved by the FIS Congress 2002 and as version 2016, and FIS's 2002 congress at Portoroz revised the rules to cover snowboarding and carving. FIS calls them guidance that does not replace the rules of any ski area, course or competition, and its 2016 comments say failing to respect them could expose a person to civil and criminal liability after an accident. The current file is the FIS Code of Conduct for Skiers and Snowboarders. (The codes of conduct)

10th Mountain Division

The US Army's mountain division of the Second World War. The US Army says its first mountain unit, the 87th Mountain Infantry Battalion, was activated on 15 November 1941, building of Camp Hale in Colorado began in April 1942, the 10th Light Division (Alpine) was activated on 15 July 1943 and renamed the 10th Mountain Division in November 1944. It fought at Riva Ridge (18 to 19 February 1945) and Mount Belvedere (19 to 25 February 1945) in Italy; the Army says that of nearly 20,000 soldiers who served there, nearly 1,000 were killed and nearly 3,900 wounded. It was inactivated on 30 November 1945 and reactivated at Fort Drum, New York, on 13 February 1985. A White House fact sheet of 12 October 2022 says more than 60 US ski areas owe their origin to returning veterans. (The 10th Mountain Division)

A

Aerials (freestyle skiing)

A freestyle skiing event of acrobatic jumps from prepared kickers. FIS's Freestyle Skiing Judging Handbook (October 2026, JH 6001 to 6003) scores air at 20%, form at 50% and landing at 30%; with five judges the high and low score in each part are dropped and the total of the rest is multiplied by the jump's degree of difficulty. The FIS ICR Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski, June 2026 edition lists aerials, aerials team and aerials synchro among the freestyle events; the Handbook (JH 6100 to 6102) scores aerials synchro, in which two skiers jump together, 60% on synchronisation and 40% on the normal aerials evaluation. Milano Cortina 2026 held men's, women's and mixed team aerials (FIS). (Freestyle and freeski)

AIARE

The American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education, based at Mount Crested Butte, Colorado. Its recreational course sequence is Avalanche Awareness, Avalanche Rescue (one day), AIARE 1 (24 hours, no prerequisites), the AIARE 1 Refresher (one day) and AIARE 2 (which needs AIARE 1 and Avalanche Rescue or an equivalent), taught through certified providers in 13 US states and in Argentina, France and China. Courses are named here only; what they teach is for the course. (Avalanches as published)

Airbag protector (FIS alpine racing)

FIS's term for an electronically inflated air cushion worn in alpine speed races, triggered on its own by an algorithm that detects a crash, and meant, in FIS's words, to improve the level of protection; it is not an avalanche airbag. The FIS Council confirmed on 8 November 2024 that airbags are mandatory in World Cup downhill and super-G from 2024/25, with exceptions a national association may grant when one does not fit. The 2025/26 alpine specifications made it mandatory at race levels 0 and 1 from 15 October 2025, except at the Nor-Am Cup, Far East Cup and Junior World Championships; the FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 drop those exceptions and, citing ICR 627.2, say an athlete without an activated airbag in speed races and official training will not start or will be disqualified. On 23 October 2025 the Council approved enforcing protective equipment such as airbags in training too. The label reads Conforms to FIS Specifications AIRBAG 2024. In ski cross the same specification exists but airbags are highly recommended, not required. (Race suits, airbags and cut protection)

Alpes 2030

The French Alps 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, upcoming on 24 October 2026. The 142nd IOC Session in Paris elected the French Alps on 24 July 2024, by 84 votes to 4 according to the Canadian Olympic Committee, on condition that the French government's guarantee arrived by deadlines the IOC set (FIL). The Canadian Olympic Committee gives the dates as 1 to 17 February 2030, with clusters in Haute-Savoie, Savoie, Briancon and Lyon. The Sports Examiner, in a report dated 7 July 2026 relaying the IOC Executive Board's 2030 programme decision, records freeride added with four events and Nordic combined removed. NBC Sports reports that ski mountaineering stays, with two added events said to be individual races, while another report mentions relays. (Alpes 2030)

Alpine Canada

Canada's national body for alpine, para-alpine and ski cross racing, in its own description. It says it was created in 1993 as a member of the Canadian Ski Association, and it traces Canadian ski racing to the Canadian Amateur Ski Association, incorporated on 20 December 1920. It says it remains affiliated with FIS today. (National federations)

Alpine combined (alpine skiing)

An alpine event joining a speed run and a slalom run. Under article 1101 of the FIS International Competition Rules (ICR) Book IV for alpine skiing, July 2020 edition (the current alpine ICR was not read) it is one downhill or super-G run plus one slalom run, ideally on one day, and article 1100 adds the times and counts only competitors who take part in every part; the classical combined (article 1102) is a downhill and a slalom, each treated as a separate event. Olympedia says FIS introduced the combined at the 1932 World Championships before the IOC included it at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936, which the ISHA compiled timeline lists as the first Olympic alpine events. See also team combined. (Alpine skiing)

Alpine skiing

Downhill ski racing, listed as a FIS discipline (AL) in the FIS Statutes 2026. The FIS International Competition Rules (ICR) Book IV for alpine skiing, July 2020 edition (the current alpine ICR was not read) cover downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super-G, parallel, combined, team and KO events. FIS's 1930 congress in Oslo first allowed downhill and slalom races, and Milano Cortina 2026 held ten alpine events, five for women and five for men (FIS). (Alpine skiing)

Alpine touring binding

A binding that frees the heel for climbing and locks it for the descent. ISO 13992:2014, edition 3, sets requirements and test methods for touring bindings for children, juniors and adults, and its catalogue entry says it was reviewed and confirmed in 2026; the edition and scope come from ISO catalogue entries seen in search results, because iso.org could not be opened. The ISMF Rules & Guidelines 2025-26 (in force from 30 October 2025) require race bindings to free the heel for climbing, lock it for descents and have complete lateral and forward release. (Bindings and standards)

Altitude sickness

Illness at altitude. NHS 111 Wales says it usually occurs above 2,500 metres and can sometimes be life-threatening. Altitude sickness needs medical care. (Cold and altitude)

Amateur rule (Olympic skiing)

The old Olympic bar on professionals. Olympedia says FIS allowed ski instructors to compete internationally in 1932, but in winter 1935 the IOC told FIS that paid ski instructors would not be allowed at the Winter Olympics, and Austria and Switzerland declined to enter men's alpine teams at Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 in protest. Olympedia also says IOC president Avery Brundage singled out the Austrian skier Karl Schranz, who was expelled from the 1972 Sapporo Games. No IOC or FIS document dating the end of the rule for skiers was found. (Alpine skiing and the Olympics)

ANSI B77.1

A standard for passenger ropeways. A Colorado rulemaking notice, seen only in a search summary, describes it as the US national standard for passenger ropeways and says Colorado would adopt its 2022 edition by reference from 2 May 2023; both points are unconfirmed. (Lift safety regulators)

Arlberg technique

The ski-teaching method associated with Hannes Schneider at St Anton am Arlberg, named here only. Skiing History magazine (2023) says Schneider began teaching guests at the Hotel Post in 1907; the ISHA compiled timeline dates his stem christie to 1910 and his formalising of the Arlberg technique to 1920 to 1924, and lists his book with Arnold Fanck (1925) and the film Der Weisse Rausch (1931). His ski school is dated 1920 by Skiing History magazine and 1921 by the ISHA timeline and by a local operator's heritage page. (The Alps and the ski schools)

Arlberg-Kandahar

An alpine race at St Anton linked with Arnold Lunn, whom the ISHA compiled timeline names as its co-founder without citing a source. The first edition is dated 31 March to 1 April 1928 by the ISHA timeline and 3 to 4 March 1928 by a snow-forecast.com history seen only in a search summary. (Alpine skiing and the Olympics)

AS1 to AS4 (Para alpine)

The vision-impaired sport classes in FIS Para alpine skiing. The FIS Para alpine ICR (July 2026, article 302.2.3) groups classes into three categories in which athletes race their own gender: vision impaired (AS1 to AS4), standing (LW1 to LW9-2) and sitting (LW10-1 to LW12-2). A guide is compulsory for every vision-impaired athlete (article 1302), and AS1 athletes must wear blacked-out goggles (article 1302.7). FIS's July 2024 classification rules use the same AS labels. (Adaptive and Para skiing)

ASTM F2040

ASTM's Standard Specification for Helmets Used for Recreational Snow Sports. ASTM lists F2040-18 as the active version (earlier versions are -00, -02, -06 and -11) and calls it a performance standard for helmets for non-motorised recreational snow sports such as skiing and snowboarding, tested to ASTM F1446 except where stated; its scope says a compliant helmet may reduce the risk of some head injuries at slower speeds and that the protection is limited, and it bars partial-compliance claims. FIS writes ASTM 2040 with no edition; its FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 require it together with EN 1077 class A for downhill, super-G, giant slalom and parallel helmets, and accept it as a slalom minimum. Health Canada names F2040-18 among four helmet standards. Whether a helmet meets it is for the standard and the helmet's own label. (Helmets and standards)

Avalanche airbag system

A backpack airbag system for the backcountry, covered by EN 16716:2017, whose scope is systems intended to reduce the risk of burial in a snow avalanche and which expressly does not consider protection against impact or cold. It is different from FIS's racing airbag protector. Features beyond the standard are makers' claims. Carrying the equipment is no substitute for avalanche training. (Avalanche equipment standards)

Avalanche Canada

The Canadian avalanche organisation that designs the Avalanche Skills Training (AST) courses and publishes the AvySavvy online tutorial, which rates danger on the five-level North American scale. On 12 December 2025 it launched a national fatal avalanche incidents database, funded by a three-year Public Safety Canada grant, covering known Canadian avalanche deaths back to the 18th century (the announcement gives both 1782 and 1792 as the start) with expert analyses for most incidents since 1955. (Avalanches as published)

Avalanche danger scale (Europe)

The five-level scale the European Avalanche Warning Services (EAWS) publish: 1 Low, 2 Moderate, 3 Considerable, 4 High and 5 Very high. The document on the EAWS site is headed European Avalanche Danger Scale (2018/19), which is the scale in force. At its 2025 General Assembly EAWS sent a proposed new scale to consultation, choosing dark red rather than black for level 5, with a final vote planned for the end of October 2026 and introduction by winter 2027/28; no result had been found on 24 October 2026. EAWS attributes around 50% of avalanche deaths to level 3, around 30% to level 2, around 10% to level 4 and around 5% to level 1. (Avalanches as published)

Avalanche danger scale (North America)

The North American Public Avalanche Danger Scale, with five levels: 1 Low, 2 Moderate, 3 Considerable, 4 High and 5 Extreme (Avalanche.org). Avalanche.org says ratings are usually issued for three elevation bands and that danger rises sharply at the higher levels even though the numbers are evenly spaced; Avalanche Canada says historically the most avalanche deaths happened when the danger was rated Considerable. (Avalanches as published)

Avalanche probe

A rescue probe for avalanche burials, named here as the standards define it. UIAA 157 sets a minimum diameter of 11 mm and length of 240 cm, with bending and elongation tests, a distinctly coloured last segment and a printed metric scale (ISSW 2023 paper by Genswein, Rogora and Bedogni). The ISMF Rules & Guidelines 2025-26 (in force from 30 October 2025) use their own self-certified standard with a 10 mm minimum diameter and 240 cm length, so the two bodies' minimum diameters differ. A UIAA page seen only in a search summary says UIAA 157 was approved in June 2021. Carrying the equipment is no substitute for avalanche training. (Avalanche equipment standards)

Avalanche shovel

A rescue shovel for avalanche burials, named here as the standards define it. The UIAA published UIAA 156, its 23rd safety standard, on 17 July 2017, setting minimum mechanical, ergonomic and construction requirements with lab tests aimed at failures in tension and bending. The ISMF Rules & Guidelines 2025-26 (in force from 30 October 2025) use their own self-certified standard: a blade of at least 20 by 20 cm, a working length of at least 50 cm, a T or L handle and a strength test after cold conditioning at -20 C. No CEN or ISO standard for avalanche probes or shovels was found. Carrying the equipment is no substitute for avalanche training. (Avalanche equipment standards)

Avalanche Skills Training (AST)

Avalanche Canada's course series, named here only: AST 1 (at least two days, no prerequisites), AST 1 Refresher (one day), Companion Rescue Skills (one day), Managing Avalanche Terrain (after AST 1), AST 1+ (usually three days, joining AST 1 and Managing Avalanche Terrain) and AST 2 (at least 9.5 classroom hours and three field days, after AST 1 and some backcountry experience). Avalanche Canada designs the courses and licenses independent providers to deliver them, with instructors who must belong to the Canadian Avalanche Association, and says it does not supervise them. (Avalanches as published)

Avalanche transceiver (beacon)

A portable radio that both transmits and receives, which ETSI defines as a system for locating avalanche victims for direct rescue by companions who are not buried, with transmit and receive modes. The harmonised European standard is ETSI EN 300 718 (457 kHz). The ISMF Rules & Guidelines 2025-26 (in force from 30 October 2025) make one compulsory in team and individual races and require it to meet EN 300 718 at 457 kHz with three receiving antennas; the ISMF calls it a DVA or ARVA. Regulators have recalled some models, such as CPSC recall 25-167 of 6 March 2025. How one is used is for an avalanche course. Carrying the equipment is no substitute for avalanche training. (Avalanche equipment standards)

B

Back protector

A spine protector worn under the suit. Under the FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 it is optional for alpine racers, at most 45 mm thick in the middle with the top edge no higher than the 7th cervical vertebra, and FIS strongly recommends protectors certified to the latest EN 1621-2, including for children under 12, U14 and U16. Under the FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for snowboard, freestyle, freeski and ski cross, edition 2026/2027 back protection is highly recommended in freestyle, freeski and ski cross and, new for 2026/27, mandatory in snowboard cross. No ski-specific back-protector standard was found. (Goggles and back protectors)

BASI

The British Association of Snowsport Instructors, which says it has worked since 1963, is a not-for-profit membership organisation and is the UK's official awarding body for professional ski and snowboard instructors. It qualifies instructors in ski, snowboard, telemark, adaptive and cross-country on a pathway from Level 1 to Level 4 recognised by the ISIA. Its page gives an Edinburgh address, while a search summary places it at Grantown-on-Spey, possibly an office move. (How people learn)

Bearing surface height (alpine racing)

FIS's term for the distance from the ski base to the boot sole, commonly called stand height. The FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 cap it at 50 mm for the assembled ski, plate and binding, unchanged from 2025/26, and cap boot-sole thickness separately at 43 mm; FIS notes that the athlete's overall standing height is the sum of the two but sets only the two separate limits. In ski cross the FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for snowboard, freestyle, freeski and ski cross, edition 2026/2027 set the same 50 mm maximum. (FIS race ski rules)

Biathlon

Cross-country ski racing with shooting stages, governed by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) rather than FIS; it is not in the FIS Statutes 2026 list of disciplines. The IBU's formats page lists the sprint (men 10 km, women 7.5 km, one prone and one standing stage, a 150 m penalty loop per miss), pursuit, individual (a minute added per miss), mass start, relay, mixed relay, single mixed relay and super sprint. The IBU's founding in 1993, on 2 July 1993 by its constitution, rests on search summaries and is unconfirmed. FIS and the IBU coordinate approval of new cross-country equipment. (Biathlon)

Big air (freeski and snowboard)

A judged event on one large jump. Under the FIS ICR Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski, June 2026 edition (article 3102.4) the jump is fed by a drop-in ramp at least 30 m long and 5 m wide; judges score execution, difficulty, amplitude, variety and progression from 0 to 100 (articles 3402 to 3403). FIS's World Cup Rules 2025/26 (article 2.7.2) use qualification on the best of two runs, then semi-finals and finals on the best two of three. Freeski (skis) and snowboard hold separate big air events; the Canadian Encyclopedia dates snowboard big air's Olympic debut to PyeongChang 2018. (Freestyle and freeski)

Birkebeiner

A Norwegian race that, according to Store norske leksikon, commemorates 1206, when two skiers carried the infant king's son Hakon Hakonsson to safety over the mountains during the civil war. (The oldest skis)

Black diamond

The North American sign for the hardest marked terrain. Colorado law (C.R.S. 33-44-107) requires the most difficult terrain to be signed with a black diamond and the words most difficult, and Arizona law (A.R.S. 5-703) requires base-area signs explaining it. The claim that the NSAA adopted the green circle, blue square and black diamond in 1968 rests on Wikipedia and a ski-area trade-association blog; no NSAA page saying so was found. See also extreme terrain. (Trail difficulty markings)

Blue square

The North American sign for intermediate terrain: Colorado law (C.R.S. 33-44-107) and Arizona law (A.R.S. 5-703) both pair it with the words more difficult. In France blue marks medium-difficulty runs, according to a municipal order applying the AFNOR standard NF S 52-102. (Trail difficulty markings)

Burton Carpenter, Jake

The founder of Burton Snowboards in 1977. The International Skiing History Association says he had ridden a Snurfer as a child, raced in Brunswick-sponsored Snurfer events and is quoted as saying the Snurfer inspired him. (Snowboarding begins)

C

CAIC (Colorado Avalanche Information Center)

The Colorado state body whose accident statistics count US avalanche deaths by avalanche year: 22 in 2024-25 and 23 in 2025-26, an average of 23 over the last 10 winters and 21.6 over 5 seasons (read 24 October 2026). For 2016-17 to 2025-26 it counts backcountry tourers (89) and snowmobilers (67) as the largest groups. Its current table gives 16 deaths for 2023-24, while PlanetSKI, citing CAIC in May 2024, gave 13. The CSAC Avalanche Center, a non-governmental archive, also lists 22 US deaths for 2024-25. (Avalanches as published)

Camber

The arch under the foot of a ski that lets it flex, as Backcountry Magazine describes it; rocker is the upturn at tip and tail. FIS sets no camber limit for alpine racing skis in its FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027, and none for freestyle skis. (Skis)

Camp Hale

The Colorado training camp of the US Army's mountain troops, on which building began in April 1942 (US Army). On 12 October 2022 it became the Camp Hale - Continental Divide National Monument, 53,804 acres of the White River National Forest managed by the Forest Service (White House fact sheet); Skiing History magazine calls it the country's 130th national monument. (The 10th Mountain Division)

Canadian Amateur Ski Association (CASA)

The body from which organised Canadian skiing descends. Alpine Canada says it was incorporated under a Dominion charter on 20 December 1920, with alpine, cross-country and ski jumping as equal partners, later became the Canadian Ski Association and in 2001 the Canadian Snowsports Association; Alpine Canada says it remains affiliated with FIS today, and no source read gives the year Canada joined FIS. A history of the Ottawa Ski Club, seen only in a search summary, gives incorporation on 11 December 1920 after a founding meeting on 28 February 1920, and a West Vancouver Archives record gives 1921. The Canadian Ski Museum says H. Percy Douglas called the first meeting and was president from 1920 to 1930. (National federations)

Cap construction

A ski build in which the topsheet wraps down over the edges, which Backcountry Magazine says saves weight but gives up some edge hold. Compare sandwich construction. (Skis)

CASI

The Canadian Association of Snowboard Instructors (CASI-ACMS), which says it was founded in 1994, is a not-for-profit with more than 7,500 active members, and certifies Level 1 to Level 4 instructors plus Park 1 and 2, Carving and Big Mountain; it calls itself one of the only snowboard-only certification bodies not tied to a ski instructor association. Its own page gives its head office as Collingwood, Ontario; a search summary of Wikipedia gives Cambridge, Ontario. (How people learn)

Catastrophic injury (NSAA)

NSAA's category for life-altering injuries, which a trade report (Unofficial Networks, 5 March 2026) quotes as including broken necks or backs with full or partial paralysis, serious head injuries and loss of a limb, giving 1.02 per million skier visits for 2024/25, the highest in ten years. The report was seen only as a search summary and NSAA's fact sheet could not be read, so this is unconfirmed. Any injury needs medical care. (Deaths at ski areas)

Chairlift

An aerial lift that carries seated riders. Smithsonian Magazine (2021) says Union Pacific Railroad engineer James Curran designed the chairlifts that opened at Sun Valley, Idaho, in December 1936, basing them on conveyors used to load bananas onto ships, and that US Patent 2,152,235, Aerial Ski Tramway, was granted on 28 March 1939 to Curran, Glen Trout and Gordon Bannerman; the ISHA compiled timeline also gives 1936. (Ski lifts)

Chamonix 1924

The International Winter Sports Week at Chamonix, France, 25 January to 5 February 1924, later recognised as the first Olympic Winter Games. The Canadian Olympic Committee gives 16 events, 16 NOCs and 258 athletes (247 men, 11 women) and says it was recognised after the IOC amended its charter in May 1925; Wikipedia dates the recognition to the IOC Session of 6 May 1926. The skiing events were Nordic only: cross-country, ski jumping and Nordic combined (ISHA timeline). FIS was founded there on 2 February 1924. (FIS and Chamonix 1924)

Christiania turn

A turn named after Christiania, the old name of Oslo, given here as a name only. sondrenorheim.com says Sondre Norheim showed it, with the Telemark turn, for the first time outside Telemark at Iverslokken in 1868, and that the Christiania name dates from 1901, when a set of skiing rules was drawn up; the ISHA compiled timeline also lists a demonstration in 1866. Which turn came first is disputed: popular accounts make the Telemark the original, while a WildSnow timeline, seen only in a search summary, says both were developed in the same period. (Norway and Sondre Norheim)

Classical technique (cross-country)

One of the two techniques in FIS cross-country rules. The FIS ICR Book II for cross-country, October 2023 edition (article 310.2) defines classical technique as one in which single or double skating is not allowed and free technique as one that includes all cross-country techniques, and lets the jury ban or require techniques on marked sections. Under the FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for cross-country, ski jumping and Nordic combined, edition 2026/2027 (read from a FIS-hosted marked-up copy, so the figures need confirming against a clean copy), poles may be at most 83% of the skier's height in classical races (except popular races) and 100% in free technique. (Cross-country)

Collisions (figures)

How often people on the slopes collide, which depends on the population studied, so each figure belongs to its source. The Stiftung Sicherheit im Skisport's ASU Ski analysis puts collision injuries among German skiers at 1.90 per 1,000 skiers in 2024-25, 20.84% of all skiing injuries; the Swiss BFU says more than 90% of accidents on Swiss pistes are falls involving no one else and that collisions are uncommon but often serious; and none of the 13 deaths on Colorado slopes in 2025-26 involved a collision with another skier (Colorado Sun coroner survey). Any injury needs medical care. (Collisions and the codes)

Concussion

A traumatic brain injury that FIS says can follow a direct blow to the head or force passed to the head from elsewhere in the body. Rules differ by body and level: FIS (its Athlete Health Corner concussion page, which lists Concussion Guidelines dated 1 May 2026) says a suspected concussion means removal from play at once and a stepwise return with each stage lasting at least 24 hours; U.S. Ski & Snowboard's 2018-19 member policy covers athletes under 18 and requires written clearance from a qualified health care provider, while its current page, seen only in a search summary, is reported to allow benching at any age; GB Snowsport's return-to-snow protocol sets ten symptom-free days for adults and at least 29 days for under-19s; and the UK grassroots guidelines (April 2023, updated 6 November 2024) say if in doubt, sit them out. A suspected concussion needs medical care. (Concussion by body)

Concussion Recognition Tool 6 (CRT6)

A concussion recognition tool that FIS lists, dated 20 January 2026, among its concussion documents alongside the SCAT6. A search summary of the FIS-hosted SCAT6 form says the CRT6 is the tool for non-medical people; that detail is unconfirmed. Neither tool is described here. A suspected concussion needs medical care. (Concussion by body)

Considerable (avalanche danger level 3)

Level 3 of five on both the North American and the European avalanche danger scales. EAWS attributes around 50% of avalanche deaths to level 3; the SLF says most Swiss avalanche accidents from 2015/16 to 2024/25 happened at it, noting this does not reflect individual risk; and Avalanche Canada says historically the most avalanche deaths happened when the danger was rated Considerable. (Avalanches as published)

Core (ski)

The inner layer of a ski, which Backcountry Magazine says largely sets its weight, strength, flex, damping and energy return; most skis use a main wood core with reinforcements, bonded with epoxy in a layup. FIS sets no limit on core materials for alpine racing skis. (Skis)

Cross-Country Code of Conduct (FIS)

A separate ten-rule code FIS released on 6 September 2023 because not every rule of the general code fits every discipline. Its rules cover respect for others and for signs, choice of tracks, overtaking, encounters, poles, speed control, keeping the trail clear, accidents and identification. (The codes of conduct)

Cross-country skiing

Ski racing over courses with climbs and descents, a FIS discipline (CC) and one of the Nordic disciplines. The FIS ICR Book II for cross-country, October 2023 edition (article 310) lists distance races of 5 km to over 20 km, sprints of 1.0 to 1.8 km and relays of up to 10 km per skier, and two techniques, classical and free. FIS says Milano Cortina 2026 held 12 cross-country events with equal distances for women and men. (Cross-country)

Crystal globe

The trophy for a FIS World Cup title. FIS's World Cup Rules for snowboard, freestyle, freeski and ski cross (2025/26, article 1.5) split big and small trophies and require at least three competitions in a season for a title. In 2025-26 FIS says Mikaela Shiffrin won the women's alpine overall, a record-equalling sixth, and Marco Odermatt the men's, his fifth in a row; the 2026-27 seasons have no winners on 24 October 2026. (World Cup 2025-26)

CS 2015 label

FIS's conformity label for alpine racing suits. Under the FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 (section 3.4, citing ICR 606.2 and 627.2) downhill, super-G and giant slalom suits must be textile inside and out, not plasticised or chemically treated, with air permeability of at least 30 litres per square metre per second, and must carry a non-removable CS 2015 label on the back of the lower left leg; at race levels 0 and 1, athletes in suits without it may not start. (Race suits, airbags and cut protection)

CSA Z263.1-14

A Canadian helmet standard, one of the four that Health Canada names for ski and snowboard helmets with ASTM F2040-18, Snell RS-98 and EN 1077:2007. Health Canada (notice updated 4 July 2023) has determined that helmets not meeting the applicable criteria of one of them, or an equivalent, are a danger under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act; it does not approve helmets before sale. (Helmets and standards)

CSIA

The Canadian Ski Instructors' Alliance, which says it was founded in 1938 (the ISHA compiled timeline also gives 1938, in the Laurentians), is a not-for-profit, federally recognised teaching institution with four certification levels and six regions, and is an ISIA member. It notes that the Interski Congress, the international meeting of ski teaching systems, is held every four years, and says the ISIA includes the national associations of 38 alpine nations; the ISIA's own page shows about 45 member flags and no total. (How people learn)

Cut-resistant underwear (FIS)

Undergarments rated for cut resistance under the FIS-DITF test standard 2021, from 1 star (100 N) to 5 stars (500 N), with the level set by the weakest of three test directions. In alpine, the 2025/26 specifications made cut-resistant underpants mandatory at race levels 0 and 1, and the FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 make them mandatory at all FIS alpine events, at least 3 stars from the iliac crest to the boot top. In ski cross the FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for snowboard, freestyle, freeski and ski cross, edition 2026/2027 make them mandatory at race level 1 from 2026/27; the 2025/26 edition had printed the rule in its snowboard chapter instead. FIS says such garments give supplementary protection, not infinite cut protection. (Race suits, airbags and cut protection)

D

Deaths at US ski areas (NSAA count)

NSAA's yearly tally of sport-related trauma deaths at US ski areas, which excludes backcountry incidents, deaths from pre-existing medical conditions and employee deaths (First Tracks Online, 2017; the Colorado Sun). NSAA's own fact sheets could not be read, so recent figures are press reports: the Colorado Sun (May 2026) gives 50 deaths for 2024-25 against a 10-year average of 44, while the Summit Daily (14 March 2025) gave 35 for 2024-25 before that season ended, a figure search summaries attach to 2023-24. The Colorado Sun's own coroner survey, a minimum count, found at least 13 deaths on Colorado slopes in 2025-26. (Deaths at ski areas)

DIN (release binding)

Shorthand for a release, or safety, binding. FIS's FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for snowboard, freestyle, freeski and ski cross, edition 2026/2027 require freestyle, freeski and ski cross competitors to use a recognised release (DIN) binding and devices that stop runaway skis, and describe safety bindings as strain limiters that let go once a load limit is exceeded. How a binding's release is selected and adjusted is the subject of ISO 8061 and ISO 11088, named here only; this site gives no settings. (Bindings and standards)

Downhill (alpine skiing)

An alpine speed event, which FIS groups with super-G as the alpine speed disciplines. Under the FIS International Competition Rules (ICR) Book IV for alpine skiing, July 2020 edition (the current alpine ICR was not read) it is one run (two runs are allowed on a course with a smaller vertical drop), with a vertical drop of 800 m (750 m in exceptional cases) to 1,100 m for men at the Olympics, World Championships and World Cup and 450 m to 800 m for women at all levels, and gates at least 8 m wide. The FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 set a minimum ski length at levels 0 and 1 of 210 cm for women and 218 cm for men, a new maximum of 218 cm and 223 cm, and a 50 m minimum sidecut radius. (Alpine skiing)

Dual moguls (freestyle skiing)

A moguls event in which two skiers race side by side in elimination rounds, the winner of each pairing going through. FIS's Freestyle Skiing Judging Handbook (October 2026, JH 6301 to 6304) has judges pick the better skier on turns and air and scores speed from the time gap at the finish. FIS names dual moguls among its Olympic innovations at Milano Cortina 2026. (Freestyle and freeski)

E

EAWS

The European Avalanche Warning Services, whose stated purpose is to help its members prevent loss of life and damage from avalanches through forecasting and warning services, and which publishes the European avalanche danger scale. Its 2025 General Assembly at Seggau, Austria (24 to 26 June 2025) had 86 participants from 19 countries and 29 warning services, and admitted the Swedish and Ukrainian services after three-year qualifying periods. (Avalanches as published)

EN 1077

The European standard Helmets for alpine skiers and snowboarders. EN 1077:2007, published in Norway as NS-EN 1077:2007 in December 2007, replaced EN 1077:1996 and sets two protection classes, A and B, with requirements on construction and field of vision, shock absorption, penetration resistance, the retention system and marking. A helmet maker, Team Wendy, says class A helmets cannot have detachable ear covers and use a higher penetration-test speed, and that class B was developed for more ventilation and hearing; the standard's text was not read. FIS requires class A, plus ASTM F2040 and an extra EN 1077 test at 6.8 m/s, for alpine downhill, super-G, giant slalom and parallel helmets, and accepts class B as a slalom minimum (FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027). No revision after 2007 was found. (Helmets and standards)

EN 1621-2

EN 1621-2, Motorcyclists' back protectors, a motorcycling standard that was not written for skiing but that FIS cites; the edition the test house SATRA describes is EN 1621-2:2014. SATRA says it recognises full-back, central-back and lower-back protectors and two performance levels, and that level 1 requires a mean maximum transmitted force below 18 kN with no single value above 24 kN. FIS strongly recommends back protectors certified to the latest EN 1621-2 and requires its racing airbags to include one based on it. (Goggles and back protectors)

EN 16716

EN 16716:2017, Mountaineering equipment: Avalanche airbag systems: Safety requirements and test methods, published in Norway as NS-EN 16716:2017 in May 2017 (edition 1). Its stated scope is avalanche airbag systems intended to reduce the risk of burial in a snow avalanche, and it expressly does not consider protection against impact or cold. Carrying the equipment is no substitute for avalanche training. (Avalanche equipment standards)

ETSI EN 300 718

The harmonised European standard for avalanche beacons operating at 457 kHz. Part 1, V2.2.1 (2021-06), covers transmitter-receivers working from 456.9 to 457.1 kHz, a band harmonised across the EU under Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1345, and gives one voluntary way of meeting the Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU; Part 2 is V2.1.1 (01-2018). (Avalanche equipment standards)

Extreme (avalanche danger level 5, North America)

The top level of the five-level North American Public Avalanche Danger Scale (Avalanche.org); the European scale calls level 5 Very high. (Avalanches as published)

Extreme terrain (Colorado)

Terrain that Colorado law (C.R.S. 33-44-107(2)(d)) requires to be signed at its usual access with two black diamonds containing the letters E and X and the words extreme terrain. (Trail difficulty markings)

F

Factored time (Para alpine)

The adjusted race time that decides FIS Para alpine results, so that athletes of different sport classes within one category (vision impaired, standing or sitting) can be ranked together, under article 412.4.1 of the FIS Para alpine ICR (July 2026). (Adaptive and Para skiing)

Federal Office of Transport (Switzerland)

The Swiss federal office (FOT, BAV in German) that examines new and modified cableways, grants concessions, construction permits and operating licences, and supervises the safety of federally licensed installations. It says about 2,400 cableways operate in Switzerland, of which it is responsible for about 650; the cantons are responsible for drag lifts, small cable cars for up to eight passengers and non-commercial cable cars, inspected by the inter-cantonal IKSS office (FOT, 10 June 2025). (Lift safety regulators)

FIS

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, which its Statutes 2026 call the sole and exclusive world governing body for the FIS disciplines; it is a Swiss association with headquarters at Oberhofen am Thunersee, English is its official language, and it says it is recognised by the IOC and the IPC. FIS's congress page says it was founded on 2 February 1924 at Chamonix by 36 delegates from 14 countries, with Ivar Holmquist of Sweden as first president and the abbreviation FIS adopted on his proposal. Wikipedia says the English name changed from International Ski Federation to include snowboard on 26 May 2022 at the Milan Congress. FIS's own member counts differ: 141 national associations on its About page and 133 in its Factsheet General, both undated. (FIS and the governing bodies)

FIS Code of Conduct for Skiers and Snowboarders

FIS's ten rules for people on the slopes, in its current file (created 24 August 2023): respect for others; control of speed and manner of skiing or snowboarding; choice of route; overtaking; entering, starting and moving upwards; stopping on the piste; climbing and descending on foot; respect for signs and markings; assistance; and identification. The 2023 wording is gender-neutral and the substance matches the 2016 version. Compared with the NSAA's ten-point code, only the FIS code has rules on overtaking, walking on the piste and the duty to assist. The Swiss BFU says people on Swiss pistes must follow the FIS rules and those of SKUS. (The codes of conduct)

FIS Concussion Guidelines

FIS's concussion guidelines, dated 1 May 2026 and listed on the FIS Athlete Health Corner with the SCAT6 and the CRT6 (both dated 20 January 2026). FIS's concussion page says anyone with a suspected concussion should be removed from play at once and that return to activity and sport is stepwise, each stage lasting at least 24 hours. These are FIS's documents; national federations publish their own rules. A suspected concussion needs medical care. (Concussion by body)

FIS conformity label (alpine skis)

A label confirming that an alpine racing ski meets FIS's rules. Under the FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 there are two kinds, World Cup for race levels 0 and 1 and FIS for levels 2, 3 and 4, and a level 0-1 label is also valid at the lower levels. Ski length, sidecut radius (except slalom) and waist and shoulder width (shoulder except slalom) must be marked on the ski; FIS recommends standardised non-removable labels, and makers must confirm compliance every year. (FIS race ski rules)

FIS Congress

FIS's general assembly. Under the FIS Statutes 2026 the Ordinary Congress meets every year, generally from mid-May, alternating between a physical meeting and videoconference, in English. The 57th Congress in Belgrade on 11 June 2026 had 75 delegates with 129 votes and admitted Guinea-Bissau as a Full Member and Belize as an Associate Member, according to its provisional minutes (hosted by the Slovak ski federation). The same minutes call the planned Vilnius Congress of July 2028 both the 58th and the 59th. (FIS and the governing bodies)

FIS Council

FIS's governing board. The FIS Statutes 2026 set it at 23 members: the President, 18 members elected by Congress (including four Vice-Presidents) and four athletes' representatives from the Athletes' Commission, two of whom must represent Para snowsports. Each gender must hold at least three seats, the President's term is four years and a member's two, and under article 10.10.1.9 the President and Council members may serve no more than 12 years counted from the 2022 elections. (FIS and the governing bodies)

FIS Freeride World Tour

The freeride ski and snowboard tour that FIS now publishes under its own name. The 2026 tour ended at Verbier on 28 March 2026, with titles for Ben Richards (ski men), Lou Barin (ski women), Victor de Le Rue (snowboard men, his fifth, the first rider to reach five) and Mia Jones (snowboard women). FIS held the first FIS Freeride World Championships on 3 February 2026 on the Basser Negre face at Ordino Arcalis, Andorra. (X Games and freeride)

FIS licence

The licence an athlete needs to race in FIS-calendar competitions, which are open only to licensed competitors entered by their national ski associations within quotas (article 200.3 of the FIS International Competition Rules (ICR) Book IV for alpine skiing, July 2020 edition (the current alpine ICR was not read)). FIS's About page says it has over 39,000 licensed and active athletes, 64.8% men and 35.2% women; its older Factsheet General gave 30,764 (63% men, 37% women). Both are undated FIS claims. (FIS and the governing bodies)

FIS President

The head of FIS, elected by Congress for four years under the FIS Statutes 2026. The provisional minutes of the Belgrade Congress (11 June 2026, hosted by the Slovak ski federation) record Alexander Ospelt (Liechtenstein) elected for 2026-2030 by secret ballot with 65 votes to 64 for the incumbent, Johan Eliasch; the result should be checked against a FIS page. FIS's first president was Ivar Holmquist (1924), and Skiing History magazine says Marc Hodler led FIS from 1951 to 1998. (FIS and the governing bodies)

FIS TV

FIS's own free streaming platform. In October 2024 FIS said it would live-stream World Cups with English commentary in markets with no broadcast partner (its examples: Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East) and keep full competitions on demand there for seven days from January 2025; whether that still applies in 2026-27 is unconfirmed. For 2026-27 in North America, FIS says World Cups go to NBC platforms and a free 24/7 channel called Ski & Snowboard World Cup from November 2026, and in Canada to CBC and Gem. (Watching skiing)

Flex rating (ski boots)

A number for how stiff a ski boot is. Louis Dawson (Wildsnow, 2011) says each maker sets its own, no official standard exists, the informal scale runs roughly from 30 to 130, the numbers mainly rank models within one brand, and stiffness changes with the temperature of the plastic. (Boots and sole norms)

Fluorinated wax ban (FIS)

FIS's ban on fluorine in ski and snowboard wax. FIS banned products containing C8 fluorocarbons (PFOA) at all FIS events from 2021/2022, citing EU rules (June 2021); its Council on 25 October 2023 confirmed full implementation from the start of the 2023-24 season. ICR 222.8, as FIS quotes it, prohibits fluorinated wax and fluorine-containing tuning products in all FIS disciplines and levels, with disqualification for use in competition, and FIS treats the tests as material controls under ICR 222.6 whose results are final. FIS postponed its Fluorine Tracker test device in June 2021 because Covid-19 had prevented adequate testing; its October 2023 alpine document sets three red points on a ski as the disqualification line, with a transition threshold of 1.8 at the finish until 31 December 2023, and what happened to that threshold afterwards was not found. FIS's official results for the Olympic women's sprint classic qualification (Tesero, 10 February 2026) record two disqualifications under ICR 222.8, of the Korean athletes Dasom Han and Eui Jin Lee. (Wax and the fluor ban)

Four Hills Tournament

A ski jumping series held around the turn of the year at Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen, as FIS's 2026/27 Nordic calendar lists it. A FIS video title says Domen Prevc took home the golden eagle at Bischofshofen on 6 January 2026; only the title was seen, so this is unconfirmed. (Classic races)

Freeride

Skiing and snowboarding judged on natural mountain faces, a FIS discipline (FR) in the FIS Statutes 2026. FIS held its first Freeride World Championships on 3 February 2026 and publishes the FIS Freeride World Tour; FIS's freeride rule adaptations were not read. The Sports Examiner, in a report dated 7 July 2026 relaying the IOC Executive Board's 2030 programme decision, records freeride joining the 2030 Olympic programme with four events, women's and men's ski and snowboard. (X Games and freeride)

Freeski

FIS's name (FK) for park and pipe events on skis. The FIS ICR Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski, June 2026 edition (article 2029.2) lists the freeski events as halfpipe, slopestyle, big air and street style; the FIS Statutes 2026 list freestyle and freeski together (FS and FK), and FIS's World Cup Rules 2025/26 award a Freeski Park & Pipe Overall globe. Freeski and snowboard hold separate events on similar courses. (Freestyle and freeski)

Freestyle skiing

FIS's discipline (FS) for moguls, aerials and ski cross. The FIS ICR Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski, June 2026 edition (article 2029.1) lists aerials, aerials team, aerials synchro, dual moguls, dual moguls team, moguls, ski cross and ski cross team, and requires that both women and men can compete. FIS's 1979 congress at Nice recognised what it then called acrobatic skiing; Wikipedia describes this as FIS recognising freestyle skiing in 1979. FIS counts 15 freestyle medal events at Milano Cortina 2026, including the freeski events. (Freestyle and freeski)

French Ski Federation (FFS)

France's national ski federation. A search summary of an IOC article says the Club Alpin Francais founded it on 9 July 1924, a few months after FIS; olympics.com could not be opened. A French blog page on ice-hockey history (March 2026) says the federation's creation was adopted on 15 October 1924. Neither source is the FFS itself, so both dates are unconfirmed. (National federations)

Frostbite

Freezing of the skin after exposure to very cold temperatures, which the NHS says most often affects the fingers, toes, nose and ears and can come with hypothermia; the NHS tells people to get medical help if they think someone has frostbite. Frostbite and hypothermia need medical care. (Cold and altitude)

G

Gate (alpine skiing)

The poles and panels a racer must pass between. Under the FIS International Competition Rules (ICR) Book IV for alpine skiing, July 2020 edition (the current alpine ICR was not read) a slalom gate is two poles (or one turning pole), with consecutive gates alternating blue and red, 4 m to 6 m wide; a giant slalom gate is four poles and two panels, alternately red and blue; and a downhill gate is four poles and two panels at least 8 m wide. Ski cross and snowboard cross use their own gate rules in the FIS ICR Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski, June 2026 edition. (Alpine skiing)

GB Snowsport

The UK governing body for skiing and snowboarding, which says it took on Para snowsports in July 2018 and licenses alpine, cross-country, freestyle, snowboarding, telemark, speed skiing and ski jumping. It introduced head-injury protocols for athletes on its licences, including a return-to-snow protocol. Search summaries say it replaced Snowsport GB, which stopped operating in 2010; that is unconfirmed. (National federations)

Giant slalom (alpine skiing)

An alpine event of two runs. Under the FIS International Competition Rules (ICR) Book IV for alpine skiing, July 2020 edition (the current alpine ICR was not read) (articles 901 and 906) it is always two runs for women and men, with a vertical drop of 250 m to 450 m for men and 250 m to 400 m for women and a 300 m minimum at the Olympics, World Championships and World Cup. The FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 set a minimum ski length at levels 0 and 1 of 188 cm for women and 193 cm for men, a new maximum of 192 cm and 200 cm, a 30 m minimum sidecut radius, a 65 mm maximum waist and a 103 mm maximum shoulder. Snowboard's parallel giant slalom is a separate event. (Alpine skiing)

Grass skiing

Skiing on grass, a FIS discipline (GS) in the FIS Statutes 2026 with its own FIS World Championships. FIS's 1979 congress at Nice recognised skiing on grass. (FIS and the governing bodies)

Green circle

The North American sign for the easiest terrain. Colorado law (C.R.S. 33-44-107) pairs it with the word easiest, while Arizona law (A.R.S. 5-703) uses easier, so the wording differs by state. In France green marks easy runs, according to a municipal order applying NF S 52-102. (Trail difficulty markings)

GripWalk

A boot-sole and binding system for easier walking, credited to Marker and Dalbello (MDV Sports) and first shown at ISPO in 2016. Trade press in August 2021 said ISO 23223 defines the sole shape for boots with improved walking soles, while a retailer's guide says GripWalk soles meet ISO 9523, so the sources differ; MDV's claim of more than 20 licensees is the maker's own. Which binding suits which sole is for the maker's compatibility list. (Boots and sole norms)

Guide (Para alpine)

The skier who leads a vision-impaired athlete in FIS Para alpine racing. Under the FIS Para alpine ICR (July 2026, articles 1302 and 1303) a guide is compulsory for every vision-impaired athlete, must be of the same nationality, hold a FIS licence and have vision within stated limits, may not touch the athlete during the race, must pass through all gates and must stay within four gates of the athlete in slalom, three in giant slalom and two in super-G and downhill. (Adaptive and Para skiing)

Gundersen (Nordic combined)

A Nordic combined format in which jumping comes first and the cross-country race starts with gaps worked out from the jumping points, according to a FIS-hosted marked-up copy of ICR Book VII for Nordic combined (October 2025 to June 2026 changes merged), so the details are unconfirmed until checked against a clean copy (article 540). The same book's Olympic programme is men only: individual Gundersen large hill 10 km, individual Gundersen normal hill 10 km and the team sprint, the three events FIS lists for Milano Cortina 2026. (Ski jumping and Nordic combined)

H

Hahnenkamm

The World Cup alpine races at Kitzbuehel, Austria, with the downhill on the Streif. FIS reports that in 2026 Giovanni Franzoni won the downhill on 24 January, ahead of Marco Odermatt, who had won the super-G the day before. The organising club says the 1930 Oslo agreement on downhill and slalom dates from 26 February 1930. (Classic races)

Halfpipe (freeski and snowboard)

A channel built in the snow for judged runs. Under the FIS ICR Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski, June 2026 edition (article 3102.2) a Level A pipe is 22 ft (6.7 m) from the bottom to the coping with a rideable length of at least 160 m (170 m recommended); Level B is 18 ft and Level C 15 ft. Snowboard halfpipe has been on the Olympic programme since Nagano 1998 (Canadian Encyclopedia) and ski halfpipe since Sochi 2014, which the IOC Executive Board added in April 2011 (The Moscow Times). (Freestyle and freeski)

Head, Howard

The American aircraft engineer behind the laminated metal ski. Te Papa (Museum of New Zealand) says he developed the first laminated metal ski in 1947, founded the Head Ski Company in 1950, and that by 1960 Head skis and their imitators had replaced at least half of the world's wooden skis; The Aspen Times (2017) describes development from about 1946 and a successful design tested in spring 1950, after 40 failed attempts, and says he entered the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2017. (Skis)

Helmet laws (by country)

Rules on wearing helmets on the slopes, which differ by place. Italy's Legislative Decree 40/2021 required helmets for under-18s in alpine skiing, snowboarding and telemark from 1 January 2022, and an amendment in Decree-Law 96 of 2025 extended the rule to all ages from the 2025-26 season, both resting on secondary legal news and ADAC because the official text was not read. ADAC says Austria has no national law but seven of its nine provinces require helmets for children under 15, and Switzerland, Germany and France have none. Nova Scotia's all-ages law took effect on 1 November 2012. New Jersey's under-18 law took effect for 2011-12, signed on 6 April 2011 according to First Tracks Online and 8 April according to a SAM summary. NSAA says near-universal use among US children 9 and under came without mandates. (Youth helmet rules)

Helmet use (NSAA)

NSAA's count of helmet wearing at US ski areas: 25% in 2002/03 rising to 90% in 2023/24, about 96% among those 17 and under in 2023/24, and about 92% among 18 to 34 year olds. A trade report (J2Ski, 18 June 2026) cites NSAA data giving 91% for 2024/25; the NSAA document itself was not read. NSAA urges helmet use and also urges people to ski or ride as if they were not wearing one, and its Lids on Kids campaign gives ski areas helmet-education material for guests. (What helmets do and do not do)

Helmets and head injury (research)

What studies report, each with its own finding. A 2010 meta-analysis (Russell, Christie and Hagel, CMAJ) pooled 12 studies and found helmet users had about 35% lower odds of head injury (odds ratio 0.65, 95% confidence interval 0.55 to 0.79) and no higher odds of neck injury, while noting the helmets' design and fit were not examined and no study reported deaths. A 2006 Norwegian case-control study in JAMA (Sulheim and colleagues, 2002 season) found helmet use associated with 60% lower odds of head injury (adjusted odds ratio 0.40). A follow-up by the same Norwegian group in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, dated 2016 in a search summary and 2017 in a literature-database record and seen only in search excerpts, is reported to find the association weaker in 2010 (odds ratio 0.79) and not significant in 2011 (0.80). Shealy, Johnson and Ettlinger (2006) concluded helmets had not been shown to reduce the overall incidence of fatality. The Swiss BFU says a helmet cuts the risk of a serious head injury by one third. The US CPSC says no helmet design has been proven to prevent concussions, and FIS says helmets do not offer an absolute protection. Any injury needs medical care. (What helmets do and do not do)

High (avalanche danger level 4)

Level 4 of five on both the North American and the European avalanche danger scales. EAWS attributes around 10% of avalanche deaths to level 4. (Avalanches as published)

Hill size (ski jumping)

The measure (HS) by which FIS classes jumping hills: small up to 49 m, medium 50 m to 84 m, normal 85 m to 109 m, large 110 m to 149 m and flying hills 200 m and larger, with a giant hills class of 150 m to 184 m also shown, according to a FIS-hosted marked-up copy of ICR Book III for ski jumping, in which 2025 and 2026 changes are merged, so the figures are unconfirmed until checked against a clean copy. (Ski jumping and Nordic combined)

Holmenkollen

The ski jump and races at Oslo. Store norske leksikon says Husebyrennet (1879 to 1891) was their forerunner and moved to the Holmenkollbakken hill in 1892, Skiforeningen ran the races from 1892 to 2018 before Norges Skiforbund took over, and women first raced there in cross-country in 1954 and in ski jumping in 2000. Store norske leksikon says Skiforeningen, founded on 4 January 1883, built what it calls the world's first ski museum in 1923, later moved to the Holmenkollen jump. FIS reports Einar Hedegart won the men's 50 km on 14 March 2026, and FIS's 2026/27 calendar puts the next Holmenkollen events on 12 to 14 March 2027. (Classic races)

Hot dog skiing

An early name for freestyle skiing. Skiing History magazine (2024) says the 1971 Hot Dog Competition: National Championships of Exhibition Skiing in New Hampshire was organised by Tom Corcoran after a challenge from Skiing magazine editor Doug Pfeiffer, and that the same area had opened the first US freestyle instruction programme in 1969. (Freestyle and halfpipe)

Huitfeldt binding

A toe-iron binding that the ISHA compiled timeline says Fritz Huitfeldt invented and patented in 1894. Store norske leksikon says Huitfeldt's ski model of 1896, based on a Telemark ski type, became the standard for later development. (Norway and Sondre Norheim)

Hypothermia

A dangerous drop in body temperature below 35C (normal is around 37C), which the NHS says needs to be treated in hospital. Frostbite and hypothermia need medical care. (Cold and altitude)

I

ICR (International Competition Rules)

FIS's rule books, one per discipline group, under which all FIS-calendar events must be held. Those read for this site are Book II for cross-country (October 2023), Book III for ski jumping and Book VII for Nordic combined (marked-up copies only), Book IV for alpine (July 2020; the current edition, listed on 4 September 2026, was not read), Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski (June 2026), the telemark rules (2026 spring) and the Para alpine rules (July 2026). (FIS and the governing bodies)

Injury rate (studies)

The number of injuries per unit of skiing, which studies measure in different ways, so their figures are never merged. A one-season study at Blackcomb Mountain, British Columbia (1991-92), found 2.91 injury reports per 1,000 skier and snowboarder day visits (Macnab and Cadman, 1996); a five-season study of ski patrol reports at two western US ski areas (2000-01 to 2004-05) found 2.68 injured people per 1,000 skier days (Brooks, Evans and Rivara, 2010); and a meta-analysis of professional skiers and snowboarders pooled 3.49 injuries per 1,000 athlete-days, with very high heterogeneity among its studies (Fu et al., 2022). Any injury needs medical care. (Injuries named)

International Ski Commission (1910)

The forerunner of FIS. FIS says the first International Ski Congress met in Christiania (Oslo) in February 1910 (18 February in its index), with 22 delegates from 10 countries chaired by Karl Roll, and created the International Ski Commission to set and apply rules for each type of ski competition. On 2 February 1924 at Chamonix the Commission transformed itself into FIS. (FIS and Chamonix 1924)

ISF (International Snowboard Federation)

The snowboard federation of the 1990s. The World Snowboard Federation says five nations and 120 racers founded it in 1990, that its finances did not survive FIS's arrival in the sport with the 1998 Olympics, and that it closed in 2002; Wikipedia instead gives an International Snowboard Association of 1989, renamed the ISF in 1991. Wikipedia's article on Terje Haakonsen, three times ISF halfpipe champion by its account, says he boycotted the 1998 Olympic qualifiers because the IOC chose FIS to run qualification; that rests on Wikipedia alone. (Snowboarding joins the mountain)

ISIA

The International Ski Instructors Association, which calls itself the worldwide association for professional snow sport instructors; its President's office is in Silvaplana, Switzerland, and new members are admitted only by its Assembly of Delegates. Its Quality Standards (adopted at Vail on 7 April 2025) require at least 320 hours of training for the ISIA Stamp, for instructors who have completed national training, and 450 for the ISIA Card, which is only for holders of the highest national qualification and also needs ISIA technique and safety tests and instruction in another language; recognised instructors must do yearly further training. (How people learn)

ISMF

The International Ski Mountaineering Federation, which governs ski mountaineering internationally; the sport is not a FIS discipline. The Olympic Council of Asia reported on 16 March 2025 that Uzbekistan and Pakistan had joined, bringing it to 55 national members. Wikipedia says its constitutional assembly met on 27 February 2008 at Champery, Switzerland, which no ISMF page read confirms. Its ISMF Rules & Guidelines 2025-26 (in force from 30 October 2025) were read from a copy hosted by the German Alpine Club. (Ski mountaineering and telemark)

ISO 10958

ISO's standards for the binding mounting area of snowboards: ISO 10958-1:1998 for boards without inserts and ISO 10958-2:2015 for boards with non-removable inserts and screws; the edition and scope come from ISO catalogue entries seen in search results, because iso.org could not be opened. (Snowboards)

ISO 11088

ISO 11088:2023, Alpine ski/binding/boot (S-B-B) system: Assembly, adjustment and inspection, the current edition; earlier editions date from 1993. It is named here only; its contents are deliberately not summarised, and this site gives no binding settings. A related standard on rental-shop inspection, ISO/DIS 13993, was at draft stage. (Bindings and standards)

ISO 14573 and ISO 14790 (snowboard bindings)

ISO 14573:2002, Snowboard strap bindings for soft boots: Requirements and test methods, whose current status was not confirmed, and ISO 14790:2005, Snowboard plate-bindings: Requirements and test methods, for plate bindings without a release mechanism, last confirmed in 2020; the edition and scope come from ISO catalogue entries seen in search results, because iso.org could not be opened. (Snowboards)

ISO 18527-1

The goggle standard Eye and face protection for sports use, Part 1: downhill skiing and snowboarding goggles, published by ISO in March 2021 and adopted in Europe as EN ISO 18527-1:2022, replacing EN 174 (DIN EN ISO 18527-1:2023-11 in Germany). DIN says it covers non-corrective goggles protecting against ultraviolet and visible sunlight, rain, snow and wind, renames the filter categories S0 to S4 with the same transmission limits, and requires the maker's name and filter category on the lens; the DIN listing's title gives 2022 while its scope text cites 2018. FIS recommends goggles in alpine, freestyle and ski cross and makes them mandatory in ski jumping (a rule read from a marked-up copy, to be confirmed against a clean copy). (Goggles and back protectors)

ISO 23223

ISO 23223:2025, Alpine ski boots with improved walking soles: Interface with alpine ski-bindings, edition 2 (February 2025), replacing the 2021 first edition; its stated aim is better walking without affecting alpine bindings designed for such soles. Trade press said in 2021 that it would take full effect for products developed for 2022/23 onward, a single-source claim. The edition and scope come from ISO catalogue entries seen in search results, because iso.org could not be opened. (Boots and sole norms)

ISO 5355

ISO 5355:2019, Alpine ski-boots: Requirements and test methods, edition 5 (April 2019), covering alpine boots in Mondopoint sizes from 15.0 in types A (adults) and C (children); a sixth edition was at committee-draft stage and the 2005, 1997, 1991 and 1982 editions are withdrawn. FIS defines the alpine racing boot by reference to ISO 5355. The edition and scope come from ISO catalogue entries seen in search results, because iso.org could not be opened. (Boots and sole norms)

ISO 6289

Skis: Vocabulary, the ISO standard FIS cites for its definitions of ski length, sidecut radius, waist width and shoulder width. The 2003 edition is withdrawn and the catalogue points to an ISO 6289:2025, seen only as a pointer in a search listing. (FIS race ski rules)

ISO 8061

ISO 8061:2019, the ISO standard on selecting the release torque of alpine ski bindings, with earlier editions in 2015, 2004, 1991 and 1984. It is named here only: its contents are deliberately not summarised, and this site gives no binding settings. (Bindings and standards)

ISO 8364

ISO 8364:2017, Alpine skis and bindings: Binding mounting area: Requirements and test methods, edition 5, last confirmed in 2023, covering the mounting area, free space, bindings and retention devices. FIS requires binding mounting to observe it in alpine and in freestyle, freeski and ski cross. (Bindings and standards)

ISO 9462

ISO 9462:2023, Alpine ski-bindings: Requirements and test methods, edition 5 (January 2023), which sets out the main characteristics of alpine bindings for children, juniors and adults; the 2014 edition was withdrawn on 26 January 2023. Its companion ISO 9465:2012 is a test method for lateral release under impact loading. The edition and scope come from ISO catalogue entries seen in search results, because iso.org could not be opened. (Bindings and standards)

ISO 9523

ISO 9523:2023, Touring ski-boots for adults: Interface with touring ski-bindings: Requirements and test methods, edition 5 (December 2023), for rigid-soled touring boots with toe and heel attachment; boots with softer shells, such as telemark boots, are excluded. The edition and scope come from ISO catalogue entries seen in search results, because iso.org could not be opened. (Boots and sole norms)

J

Jumping skis (ski jumping)

Skis made for ski-jumping hills, whose length FIS ties to the athlete. Under the FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for cross-country, ski jumping and Nordic combined, edition 2026/2027 (read from a FIS-hosted marked-up copy, so the figures need confirming against a clean copy), the maximum is 145% of total body length, based on a minimum body mass index of 21 for women and men, with a grading table below that; youth competitions allow 140% with no BMI formula. Length must be marked on the ski, and the binding is mounted so that at most 57% of the ski's length lies in front of the boot toe. (FIS race ski rules)

Jumping suit (ski jumping)

The suit worn in ski jumping and in the jumping part of Nordic combined. The FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for cross-country, ski jumping and Nordic combined, edition 2026/2027 (read from a FIS-hosted marked-up copy, so the figures need confirming against a clean copy) require a five-layer laminate with air permeability of at least 40 litres per square metre per second in FIS-homologated fabric, set how much larger than the body it may be (men 2.0 to 4.0 cm, legs 2.0 to 5.0 cm), add a 13-part women's cut, and mark suits for top events with encoded NFC chips; a suit manipulated after marking leads to disqualification and may be referred under FIS's rules against competition manipulation. (Race suits, airbags and cut protection)

K

K point (ski jumping)

The reference point on a jumping hill. A jump that reaches it earns 60 distance points, and each metre beyond or short of it adds or takes away a value that depends on the hill (for example 2.0 points per metre for a K point of 80 m to 99 m and 1.8 for 100 m to 134 m); style points from five judges, with the highest and lowest dropped, are added, according to a FIS-hosted marked-up copy of ICR Book III for ski jumping, in which 2025 and 2026 changes are merged, so the figures are unconfirmed until checked against a clean copy. Wind and gate compensation points are then applied: FIS's Nordic combined rules refer to wind and gate compensation when in use, and Wikipedia says each ski jumping judge gives up to 20 style points for flight, landing and outrun before the compensation is added or taken away. (Ski jumping and Nordic combined)

Kandahar Ski Club

A ski club founded at Murren, Switzerland, in January 1924: on 29 January according to the ISHA compiled timeline (uncited) and on 30 January according to an operator's blog. (Alpine skiing and the Olympics)

Knee and wrist injuries (BFU figures)

The body parts most often hurt in Swiss slope accidents, according to the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU, 17 December 2024): the knee in skiing accidents (39%) and the wrists and forearms in snowboarding accidents (33%). Among German skiers, the ASU Ski analysis puts knee-injury risk at 3.32 per 1,000 skiers in 2024-25, its highest in ten years. Any injury needs medical care. (Injuries named)

L

Lauberhorn

The World Cup alpine races at Wengen, Switzerland. FIS reports Marco Odermatt won the downhill on 17 January 2026, which FIS says made him the first to win four Wengen World Cup downhills in the race's 59-year history. (Classic races)

Lilienfeld technique

Mathias Zdarsky's skiing method, based on the stem turn, named after Lilienfeld in Lower Austria, where he taught; Austria-Forum also credits him with the Lilienfeld binding. His book on it first appeared in 1897 according to Austria-Forum (17 editions to 1925) and in 1896 according to the ISHA compiled timeline. The method is named here, not described. (The Alps and the ski schools)

LL1, LL2 and UL (Para snowboard)

The Para snowboard sport classes FIS listed for the 2026 Paralympics: lower limb 1, lower limb 2 and upper limb for men, and LL2 only for women, with women's LL1 athletes competing within LL2, as at Beijing 2022. (Adaptive and Para skiing)

Low (avalanche danger level 1)

Level 1 of five on both the North American and the European avalanche danger scales. EAWS attributes around 5% of avalanche deaths to level 1. (Avalanches as published)

Lunn, Arnold

The British skier who campaigned for downhill and slalom racing. Skiing History magazine (2024) says he fought, with Walter Amstutz's support, for FIS to recognise them, and that Murren hosted the first FIS alpine championships in 1931, later declared a World Championship; FIS's page on the 1930 Oslo congress says Lunn did not speak but was visibly relieved by the outcome. The first modern slalom, set by Lunn at Murren on 21 January 1922, rests on search summaries and an operator's blog, so that date is unconfirmed. (Alpine skiing and the Olympics)

M

Mass start

A race in which competitors start together, run differently in each discipline. In cross-country the FIS ICR Book II for cross-country, October 2023 edition puts a 50 km mass start in the Olympic and World Championship programme; in biathlon the IBU's mass start is men 15 km and women 12.5 km, with 30 athletes starting together and four shooting stages; and in Nordic combined the mass start puts the cross-country race first and the jumping second, according to a FIS-hosted marked-up copy of ICR Book VII for Nordic combined (October 2025 to June 2026 changes merged), so the details are unconfirmed until checked against a clean copy. (Cross-country)

Masters (FIS alpine)

Older competitors in FIS alpine racing. Under the FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 (1.1.2.1) the ski length (except super-G), radius and width figures are only recommendations for masters, the super-G minimum length is compulsory, and women 55 and over and men 65 and over have no length, width or radius restriction; masters competitors and forerunners must wear helmets meeting the same rules in all events (3.6.5). (FIS race ski rules)

Milano Cortina 2026

The Olympic Winter Games in Italy, finished on 24 October 2026: they ran from 6 February to 22 February 2026 (the closing date rests on a search summary of olympics.com), with ski and snowboard competition from 7 February. FIS counted 57 ski and snowboard medal events: alpine 10, freestyle 15, cross-country 12, ski jumping 6, Nordic combined 3 and snowboard 11, and named as new team combined, equal cross-country distances for women and men, dual moguls, a women's large hill and a men's super team. Ski mountaineering made its Olympic debut with three events at Bormio (NBC Olympics). (Milano Cortina 2026)

Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games

The Paralympic Winter Games of 6 to 15 March 2026 (IPC), finished on 24 October 2026. FIS ran Para alpine (30 medal events, Cortina d'Ampezzo), Para cross-country (20, Val di Fiemme) and Para snowboard (8), about 80% of all Paralympic medals, at the first Paralympics since it took over governance of those sports from the IPC, effective July 2022. Before the Games FIS said a record 54 countries would take part in Para snow sports; its review afterwards gave 53 national ski associations. China topped the IPC medal table with 15 golds. (Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics)

Mips

A rotational-impact system for helmets, described here as its maker claims it: a low-friction layer inside the helmet, usually between the padding and the foam, that lets the helmet shift slightly in angled impacts and is, in Mips's words, intended to help reduce the risk of brain injury; Mips says the first helmet with its system came out in 2007. Its own disclaimer says no helmet or system can protect against all injuries and it does not guarantee that a wearer avoids concussion. None of the snow-sports helmet standards found was seen to include a rotational-impact test, an observation the research could not confirm. (Helmets and standards)

Mixed team parallel (alpine skiing)

A team parallel event using giant slalom gates and panels. Under article 1212 of the FIS International Competition Rules (ICR) Book IV for alpine skiing, July 2020 edition (the current alpine ICR was not read) a nation's team is at most six competitors with at least two of each gender, and each competitor starts only once per run. FIS also publishes separate mixed team parallel rules (29 April 2024), which were not read. The Saalbach 2025 World Championships opened with what FIS's review calls the team parallel. (Alpine skiing)

Moderate (avalanche danger level 2)

Level 2 of five on both the North American and the European avalanche danger scales. EAWS attributes around 30% of avalanche deaths to level 2. (Avalanches as published)

Moguls (freestyle skiing)

A judged freestyle run on a steep course covered with bumps. FIS's Freestyle Skiing Judging Handbook (October 2026, JH 6201 to 6203) describes one run stressing technical turns, aerial manoeuvres and speed, scored 60% on turns, 20% on air and 20% on speed; in the seven-judge format five judges score turns and two score the two jumps, and the speed score comes from the run time. See also dual moguls. (Freestyle and freeski)

N

National Ski Areas Association (NSAA)

The US ski areas' association, which says it was established in 1962, originally in New York; the ISHA compiled timeline gives 1963. It publishes Your Responsibility Code, runs the Ski Safety U.S. website and the Lids on Kids helmet campaign, and compiles helmet-use and fatality figures; its fatality fact sheets could not be opened, so recent death counts on this site rest on press reports of NSAA data. (The codes of conduct)

National Ski Association (1905)

The US body from which U.S. Ski & Snowboard traces itself, according to search summaries of its own pages, which could not be opened. The Mining Journal (2013) says the Norden Ski Club was founded at Ishpeming, Michigan, in 1887 by Norwegian immigrants and renamed the Ishpeming Ski Club in 1901, and that on 21 February 1905 club president Carl Tellefsen announced the new National Ski Association after a meeting of area clubs and became its first president; the ISHA compiled timeline also gives 1905. The Mining Journal says the association later chose Ishpeming for its museum and named the first four Hall of Fame members in 1956. (National federations)

National Ski Patrol

The US ski patrol organisation, which Skiing History magazine (2024) says Charles Minot (Minnie) Dole founded in 1938; from 1940 Dole pressed for American ski troops, which became the 10th Mountain Division. (The 10th Mountain Division)

NF S 52-102 (France)

The AFNOR standard for marking, signs and information on French ski runs. The French Ministry of Sports (answer published 15 May 2012) says it harmonises piste signage nationally with pictograms, that NF S 52-100 covers alpine runs including opening, closing and securing, and that these standards are voluntary but often written into mayors' orders, which makes them compulsory locally. A municipal order of December 2022 applying the July 2001 edition classes runs as easy (green), medium (blue), difficult (red) and very difficult (black), and says any unmarked route is off-piste. (Trail difficulty markings)

Nordic combined

A FIS discipline (NC) joining a ski jumping competition and a cross-country race; formats such as the Gundersen, compact, mass start and team events are set out in a FIS-hosted marked-up copy of ICR Book VII for Nordic combined (October 2025 to June 2026 changes merged), so the details are unconfirmed until checked against a clean copy. Its Olympic programme is men only. FIS reported on 24 June 2022 that the IOC Executive Board had declined its application for a women's event at Milano Cortina 2026, citing too few participating nations and little interest outside Europe, a decision FIS called surprising and disappointing; the first women's Nordic combined World Championship event was held at Oberstdorf on 27 February 2021. The Sports Examiner, in a report dated 7 July 2026 relaying the IOC Executive Board's 2030 programme decision, records Nordic combined removed from the 2030 programme. (Ski jumping and Nordic combined)

Nordic (FIS usage)

FIS's grouping of cross-country, ski jumping and Nordic combined, which share the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, one equipment specification (FIS's Specifications for Competition Equipment for cross-country, ski jumping and Nordic combined, edition 2026/2027) and a Nordic World Cups calendar. FIS's About page lists one Nordic World Championships but does not itself say which disciplines the word covers. (What skiing and snowboarding are)

Norges Skiforbund

The Norwegian Ski Federation, which Store norske leksikon says was formed in 1908 on Skiforeningen's initiative; the day, 21 February 1908, rests on search summaries. The ISHA compiled timeline lists a Norwegian ski federation founded in 1879, which may refer to the first Husebyrennet; Store norske leksikon's 1908 is the federation's date. It took over the Holmenkollen races in 2018. (National federations)

Norheim, Sondre

A Norwegian skiing pioneer from Morgedal in Telemark. Store norske leksikon gives his birth as 10 June 1825 and his death as 9 March 1897 in North Dakota, credits him with shorter skis with sidecut and willow heel bindings, says he won a race combining cross-country, jumping and slalom at Iverslokka in Christiania in 1868, and says the nickname father of modern skiing is now considered exaggerated. It says he walked about 190 km to that race; the Morgedal community site says about 200 km over three days. sondrenorheim.com says willow heel bands are reported from before his time and that it is not known whether he made the very first Telemark turn. (Norway and Sondre Norheim)

O

Off-piste

Skiing away from marked runs. A French municipal order says any unmarked route is not a ski run but off-piste; NSAA says leaving groomed runs means accepting the risk of a deep-snow immersion accident; and the SLF says most avalanche deaths in Switzerland now involve people in backcountry or off-piste activities. (Trail difficulty markings)

Oldest skis

Prehistoric skis, each dated by its own source. Store norske leksikon (2024) calls the Kalvtrask ski from Vasterbotten, Sweden (found in 1924, according to the ISHA compiled timeline), the oldest known ski, radiocarbon-dated to 3623 to 3110 BCE, where the ISHA compiled timeline gives 2700 BC (attributed to Jakob Vaage), and dates the Drevja ski in Vefsn, Norway's oldest, to 3343 to 2939 BCE; the ISHA compiled timeline lists a Vefsn ski at 5100 BC plus or minus 150 and skis from near Lake Sindor in Russia at 6300 to 5000 BC, attributed to Grigori Burov. A 2017 New York Times article says FIS recognises a northern Russian bog ski as the oldest scientifically dated evidence of skiing, but no FIS page saying so was found. The same article says Chinese archaeologists date an Altai rock painting of hunters, one on skis, to more than 10,000 years ago without carbon dating, an age ski historians view with some scepticism, and the Christian Science Monitor (2006) names Scandinavia and the Altai as the two main candidate origins. No single date for the invention of skiing exists. (The oldest skis)

ONORM S 4611

The Austrian standard Signs for use in organised skiing areas: requirements, design and classification, current edition 2016-08-01, which Austrian Standards lists as the basis for classifying difficulty and for marking in organised ski areas; earlier editions (1999, 2003) were titled Ski runs: classification and basic signs. Wikipedia names the Austrian standard ONORM S 4610 instead. (Trail difficulty markings)

P

Para alpine skiing

Alpine skiing for athletes with impairments, a FIS discipline (PAL) recognised by the IPC under the FIS Statutes 2026. FIS's Para alpine ICR (July 2026) covers downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super-G, parallel, combined and team events, with vision-impaired (AS), standing (LW1 to LW9-2) and sitting (LW10-1 to LW12-2) categories and results on factored times; athletes not yet classified may race only at lower levels. FIS's classification rules (July 2024) implement the 2015 IPC Athlete Classification Code and require eligible impairments to be permanent. (Adaptive and Para skiing)

Para cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing for athletes with impairments, a FIS discipline (PCC) recognised by the IPC. FIS says it uses vision-impaired, standing and sitting categories at the Paralympics, and it held 20 Para cross-country medal events at Val di Fiemme in 2026. FIS's Para cross-country ICR (July 2026) was seen only in a search summary, which says it is based on the cross-country ICR. (Adaptive and Para skiing)

Para snowboard

Snowboarding for athletes with impairments, a FIS discipline (PSB) recognised by the IPC, with eight medal events at the 2026 Paralympics and LL1, LL2 and UL sport classes. The FIS ICR Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski, June 2026 edition also lists a snowboard cross inclusive team event, which FIS's 2026/27 Precisions refer to article 1411 of the Para snowboard ICR. (Adaptive and Para skiing)

Parallel (alpine skiing)

An alpine event in which two racers go side by side on two courses set as equally as possible. Under the FIS International Competition Rules (ICR) Book IV for alpine skiing, July 2020 edition (the current alpine ICR was not read) (articles 1221, 1222 and 1230) the course needs at least 50 m of vertical drop, 15 direction changes and 160 m of length, and a qualification run is followed by elimination heats from a round of 32 to the final. FIS's FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 apply to parallel the same helmet rule as to downhill, super-G and giant slalom (3.6.2.1). (Alpine skiing)

Parallel giant slalom (snowboard)

A snowboard race in which two riders descend side by side, one of the snowboard alpine events with parallel slalom and parallel team. Under the FIS ICR Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski, June 2026 edition (article 6504.1) qualifying is a timed run on the red and blue courses, the top 16 on each go to a second run on the other course, and the top 16 on combined time per gender reach the finals. FIS's World Cup Rules 2025/26 give parallel giant slalom, parallel slalom and parallel team their own small globes and a Snowboard Alpine Overall globe, and the FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for snowboard, freestyle, freeski and ski cross, edition 2026/2027 require two-piece clothing. It is a snowboard event, separate from alpine skiing's giant slalom. (Snowboard)

Peace of Oslo (1930)

A name, used in a FIS-linked history seen only in a search summary, for FIS's decision to allow downhill and slalom. FIS's own page on the 11th International Ski Congress (Oslo, 24 to 26 February 1930) says the Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish associations withdrew their opposition and the congress unanimously adopted president Ivar Holmquist's supplement saying downhill and slalom races may be organised. The same summary says the 1928 congress had first ordered a two-year trial, which is unconfirmed. The Kitzbuehel ski club dates the agreement to 26 February 1930. (Alpine skiing and the Olympics)

Penalty loop (biathlon)

The extra loop a biathlete skis for each missed target. The IBU's formats page gives 150 m per miss in the sprint, pursuit, mass start and relay (in the relay after three spare rounds per stage) and 75 m in the single mixed relay and super sprint; the individual race adds a minute per miss instead (45 seconds in the short individual). (Biathlon)

Plate (racing ski)

A plate or lifter mounted between ski and binding. Under the FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 it may nowhere be wider than the ski's running surface and counts within the 50 mm bearing surface height. The FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for snowboard, freestyle, freeski and ski cross, edition 2026/2027 also bar anti-vibration plates wider than the ski and, in snowboard cross, plates joining both bindings, though individual plates under each binding are allowed. (FIS race ski rules)

PSIA-AASI

The Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors. PSIA dates from 1961 (the ISHA compiled timeline, ISHA's obituary of founder Bill Lash, and PSIA-AASI's own since 1961); AASI's founding in 1997 rests on a search summary. PSIA's Alpine Certification Standards (updated September 2026) tie Levels 1, 2 and 3 to the three skier zones of the American Teaching System and assess professionalism, people skills, teaching skills and technical skills; there are separate standards for snowboard, cross-country, telemark and adaptive. (How people learn)

R

Race level (FIS alpine)

The grouping FIS's alpine equipment tables use. In the FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 level 0-1 means the Olympic Winter Games, World Ski Championships, World Cup, World Junior Championships and Continental Cups, and level 2-3-4 means FIS, YOG, NC and ENL races, as the tables abbreviate them; ski lengths, labels, airbags and other rules differ between them. (FIS race ski rules)

Rebagliati case (CAS OG 98/002)

The case over the first Olympic snowboard gold. The Canadian Encyclopedia says Ross Rebagliati of Canada won the men's giant slalom at Nagano on 8 February 1998, the IOC then withdrew the medal over a positive test for marijuana, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport reinstated it on the Canadian Olympic Association's appeal. The CAS database lists CAS ad hoc Division OG 98/002 with the outcome upheld and a decision date of 21 February 1998; a NORML report seen in a search summary dates the ruling to 12 February 1998, and the Canadian Encyclopedia says it came five days after the win. (Snowboarding joins the mountain)

Recall (equipment)

A safety notice in which a regulator and maker withdraw or repair a defective product. Examples the US CPSC and Health Canada published: recall 25-167 (6 March 2025) of Black Diamond BD Recon LT avalanche transceivers, whose switch could corrode and shut the unit off; recall 24-021 (9 November 2023) of Armada, Atomic and Salomon touring bindings with gray toe springs, whose toe piece could fail; and Health Canada's notice of 23 September 2021 on K2 Clicker X HB step-in snowboard bindings, whose retaining clip could fracture. A recall concerns the named product only and says nothing about other models. (Recalls)

Red run

A run marked red. In France a municipal order applying NF S 52-102 classes red runs as difficult, between blue and black; Wikipedia says European ski areas commonly use blue, red and black, with green for beginner runs in some countries. North American state laws use green, blue and black symbols instead. (Trail difficulty markings)

Release binding

A binding designed to free the boot. FIS's FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 define a release binding as one that frees the boot when loads in racing reach pre-set values, and set no values. Accounts of the first differ: the ISHA compiled timeline credits Hjalmar Hvam with the first useful release binding in 1939, in Seattle, while The Source (Bend, Oregon) says he broke his leg on Mt Hood in 1937 and 1938 and sold his idea as the Saf-Ski; the binding maker Look claims Jean Beyl's Anti-Fracture of 1947 as the first safety binding, where the ISHA timeline gives 1948. How release is selected and adjusted is in ISO 8061 and ISO 11088, named here only. (Bindings and standards)

Return-to-snow protocol (GB Snowsport)

GB Snowsport's head-injury rule for athletes on its licences: ten days of symptom-free testing and monitoring after a suspected concussion before full training and competition for adults, and at least 29 days for under-19s from a suspected concussion or an unassessed fall or impact. GB Snowsport says its Chief Medical Officer developed it with English Institute of Sport specialists and calls it the first head-injury protocol designed for skiing and snowboarding, its own claim. It is one body's rule, not a general one. A suspected concussion needs medical care. (Concussion by body)

RH 2013 label

FIS's label for helmets that meet one of its alpine helmet rules. Under the FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 (3.6.2.1) a downhill, super-G, giant slalom or parallel helmet must be certified to both ASTM F2040 and EN 1077 class A and pass an extra EN 1077 test at 6.8 m/s at a CEN laboratory, shown by a non-removable RH 2013 label at the back. The FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for cross-country, ski jumping and Nordic combined, edition 2026/2027 (read from a FIS-hosted marked-up copy, so the figures need confirming against a clean copy) require ski jumping helmets to meet the same standards with the RH2013 label, and the FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for snowboard, freestyle, freeski and ski cross, edition 2026/2027 apply the same triple test to ski cross and, from 2026/27, snowboard cross. FIS says helmets do not offer an absolute protection. (Helmets and standards)

Rocker

Upturned tip and tail on a ski, which Backcountry Magazine says helps it float in powder and feel more forgiving but shortens the effective edge, the length of edge actually in contact with the snow. Compare camber. (Skis)

Rope tow

A moving rope that pulls skiers uphill. The Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network says Alex Foster invented it in winter 1930 and ran it commercially by 1931 at Shawbridge, Quebec; the ISHA compiled timeline gives 1932 for the first North American rope tow and the Vermont Historical Society 1933. The Vermont Historical Society credits a 1934 tow on a farm north of Woodstock, Vermont, driven by a Model T Ford engine, with starting the US rope-tow era; the ISHA timeline dates it to 28 January 1934 and a 1983 Vermont Life retrospective, seen in a search summary, to 18 January. (Ski lifts)

Rowan's Law (Ontario)

Ontario's Rowan's Law (Concussion Safety), 2018, named here only. The Ontario government says it requires sport organisations to have athletes under 26, parents of athletes under 18, coaches, trainers and officials confirm each year that they have reviewed Ontario's concussion awareness resources, and to have a concussion code of conduct and removal-from-sport and return-to-sport protocols; the page does not name skiing or snowboarding. A suspected concussion needs medical care. (Concussion by body)

S

Sandwich construction

A ski build with vertical sidewalls of durable plastic or a bio-based material, which Backcountry Magazine says add weight and stiffness; partial sandwich runs the sidewalls underfoot and tapers to cap construction at tip and tail. (Skis)

SCAT6 (Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 6)

A concussion assessment tool, which FIS lists, dated 20 January 2026, among its concussion documents. A search summary of the FIS-hosted form says the SCAT6 is for healthcare professionals assessing athletes aged 13 and over, the Child SCAT6 for those 12 and under, and that no athlete diagnosed with concussion should return to play on the day of injury; those details are unconfirmed. The tool is not described here. A suspected concussion needs medical care. (Concussion by body)

Schneider, Hannes

The Austrian ski teacher of St Anton am Arlberg (1890 to 1955 in the ISHA compiled timeline). Skiing History magazine (2023) says he began teaching guests at the Hotel Post in 1907, and the ISHA timeline lists his formalising of the Arlberg technique in 1920 to 1924 and his arrival in the United States in 1939 to run a ski school there. Accounts of his detention after the 1938 annexation of Austria rest on museum and Hall of Fame pages seen only in search summaries. (The Alps and the ski schools)

Sidecut radius

An approximation of the average radius of a ski's side outline, which FIS defines by reference to ISO 6289 and computes from the ski's widths and lengths, requiring a continuous curve with no inflection point between the measuring points. The FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 set minimums at both level groups of 50 m in downhill, 40 m (women) and 45 m (men) in super-G and 30 m in giant slalom, with no radius rule in slalom. Store norske leksikon credits Sondre Norheim with shorter skis with sidecut. (FIS race ski rules)

Ski brake

A retention device that stops a released ski from running away. FIS prohibits skis without a ski brake in alpine competitions and official training (FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027, 3.1.5.1, citing ICR 222.1) and skis without ski stoppers in freestyle, freeski and ski cross (FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for snowboard, freestyle, freeski and ski cross, edition 2026/2027), and the ISMF Rules & Guidelines 2025-26 (in force from 30 October 2025) make brakes compulsory. A single enthusiast source, RetroSki (2015), says single-bladed brakes appeared in the early 1960s, a two-pronged brake reached the US in 1974 and all major binding companies offered one by 1978; this is unconfirmed. (Bindings and standards)

Ski cross (freestyle skiing)

A freestyle skiing race, not a judged event, in which skiers start from a start device and race down an obstacle course marked by gates. Under the FIS ICR Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski, June 2026 edition (articles 7400 to 7401) a gate is passed when both ski tips and both feet cross the gate line, and missing one means did not finish; the heat size was not confirmed from the rules. The FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for snowboard, freestyle, freeski and ski cross, edition 2026/2027 require ski cross helmets certified to ASTM F2040 and EN 1077 class A plus the 6.8 m/s test and, from 2026/27, cut-resistant undergarments at race level 1. Snowboard cross is a separate snowboard event. (Freestyle and freeski)

Ski flying

Ski jumping on the largest hills, under special rules in ICR Book III (articles 413 and 454); the flying-hill class starts at 200 m hill size, according to a FIS-hosted marked-up copy of ICR Book III for ski jumping, in which 2025 and 2026 changes are merged, so the figures are unconfirmed until checked against a clean copy. FIS reports that in 2025-26 men's ski flying was held in a Nordic combined World Cup for the first time, at Kulm. (Ski jumping and Nordic combined)

Ski jumping

A FIS discipline (SJ), one of the Nordic disciplines, in which five judges score style and distance points are counted from the K point, with wind and gate compensation, according to a FIS-hosted marked-up copy of ICR Book III for ski jumping, in which 2025 and 2026 changes are merged, so the figures are unconfirmed until checked against a clean copy. FIS's 1979 congress made helmets obligatory for ski jumpers. Women's ski jumping made its World Championship debut at Liberec on 20 February 2009, won by Lindsey Van (The Park Record), and its Olympic debut at Sochi on 11 February 2014, won by Carina Vogt (MPR News), after the IOC Executive Board added it in April 2011 (The Moscow Times). FIS lists six ski jumping events at Milano Cortina 2026, including a new women's large hill and men's super team. (Ski jumping and Nordic combined)

Ski mountaineering

Racing up and down mountains on skis, governed by the ISMF rather than FIS. The ISMF Rules & Guidelines 2025-26 (in force from 30 October 2025) list sprint, vertical, individual, team, relay and mixed relay races, plus the vertical kilometer (a single 1,000 m ascent) and vertical half kilometer; a vertical race is a single ascent on skis with no section on foot, 500 m to 700 m for seniors at an average gradient of at least 15%. It made its Olympic debut at Milano Cortina 2026 with men's and women's sprints and a mixed relay at Bormio (NBC Olympics), though a search summary of the IOC's 2022 programme release described five events; NBC Sports reports it stays for 2030. (Ski mountaineering and telemark)

Skiathlon (cross-country)

A cross-country race of classical then free technique in one event. The FIS ICR Book II for cross-country, October 2023 edition puts a skiathlon of 10 km classical plus 10 km free in the Olympic and World Championship programme, always classical first; FIS lists the skiathlon among the 2026 Olympic events, with equal distances for women and men. (Cross-country)

Slalom (alpine skiing)

An alpine event of two runs on two courses. Under the FIS International Competition Rules (ICR) Book IV for alpine skiing, July 2020 edition (the current alpine ICR was not read) (articles 801 and 806) it is always two runs on two different courses, with a vertical drop of 180 m to 220 m for men and 140 m to 220 m for women at the Olympics, World Championships and World Cup, gates 4 m to 6 m wide and 30% to 35% of the vertical drop in direction changes, plus or minus three. The FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 set a minimum ski length of 155 cm for women and 165 cm for men, a 63 mm minimum waist and no radius rule, and accept EN 1077 class B or ASTM F2040 helmets with soft ear padding. (Alpine skiing)

SLF

The WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in Switzerland. It gives a long-term mean of 24 avalanche deaths a year in Switzerland over the 89 years since 1936/37 and a current 20-year mean of 21, says most deaths now involve people in backcountry or off-piste activities, and uses the hydrological year (1 October to 30 September) in its tables. (Avalanches as published)

Slopestyle (freeski and snowboard)

A judged run through a course of features. Under the FIS ICR Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski, June 2026 edition (article 3102.3) the course has hits, jumps, rails, tables and other features with two or more lines, and a Level A course drops at least 150 m at an average gradient of 10 degrees or steeper. Freeski and snowboard hold separate slopestyle events; the IOC Executive Board added both to the Sochi 2014 programme in July 2011 (South African Government News Agency). (Freestyle and freeski)

Snell S-98 and RS-98

The Snell Memorial Foundation's snow-sports helmet standards. Its 1998 Standard for Protective Headgear for Skiing and Other Winter Activities (S-98) sets no construction or material specifications, names impact management, positional stability, retention strength and extent of protection, and says a helmet meets it only under the Foundation's initial certification and ongoing random sample testing. Snell's site lists RS-98 for recreational skiing and snowboarding, while a Snell pre-test form calls RS-98 rescinded, so its current status is unconfirmed. The US CPSC lists S-98 and RS-98, Health Canada names RS-98, and FIS accepts Snell 98 helmets in slalom. (Helmets and standards)

Snow immersion suffocation (SIS)

NSAA's name for deaths in deep-snow or tree-well immersion accidents, in which a skier or rider falls into deep, unconsolidated snow, cannot move and suffocates; NSAA's Ski Safety U.S. site says it usually happens when someone falls, typically head first, into a tree well or deep loose snow. One of the 13 deaths on Colorado slopes in 2025-26 was suffocation in a tree well (Colorado Sun coroner survey). No rescue method is given here. (Tree wells and snow immersion)

Snow Safe Policy (FIS)

FIS's safeguarding policy, Snow Safe Policy: Safeguarding Athletes and Participants from Harassment and Abuse, Edition 2018 (first published June 2018, to be reviewed at least every three years). It covers those within FIS's jurisdiction, FIS staff and volunteers and all FIS-registered athletes, adopts the IOC Consensus Statement (2016) categories of psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual harassment, sexual abuse and neglect, provides a FIS Lead Welfare Officer and Event Welfare Officers at World Championships and Junior World Championships, and says FIS refers suspected criminal offences to public authorities. Whether a newer edition exists was not checked. (Safeguarding)

Snowboard

Racing and riding on a snowboard, a FIS discipline (SB) in the FIS Statutes 2026. The FIS ICR Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski, June 2026 edition (article 2029.3) lists halfpipe, slopestyle, big air, street style, snowboard cross and its team events, slalom, giant slalom, parallel giant slalom, parallel slalom, parallel team, banked slalom and dual banked slalom. Under the FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for snowboard, freestyle, freeski and ski cross, edition 2026/2027 only snowboards may be used, at least 14 cm wide up to 135 cm of gliding length and 16 cm above, with bindings fixed diagonally and helmets compulsory. FIS's 1994 congress took up introducing snowboard as a FIS discipline, and the Canadian Encyclopedia dates its Olympic debut to Nagano 1998, with giant slalom and halfpipe. (Snowboard)

Snowboard cross

A snowboard race in heats of four or six riders on an obstacle course marked by gates. Under the FIS ICR Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski, June 2026 edition (articles 5400 to 5401 and 5102.1.1) a gate is passed when both feet are fixed in the bindings and the whole board crosses the gate line outside the turning pole, and a recommended Level A course is 800 m to 1,300 m long with 100 m to 250 m of vertical drop. The FIS Specifications for Competition Equipment for snowboard, freestyle, freeski and ski cross, edition 2026/2027 add, for 2026/27, helmets certified to ASTM 2040 (as FIS writes it in C.4.1; its general snowboard helmet rule, C.4, names ASTM F2040) and EN 1077 class A plus the 6.8 m/s test and mandatory back protection, and require two-piece clothing. The Canadian Encyclopedia dates its Olympic debut to Turin 2006. Ski cross is a separate freestyle event. (Snowboard)

Snurfer

A board made by bolting two children's skis together. The International Skiing History Association says Sherman Poppen made it for his daughters on Christmas Day 1965, applied for a patent in March 1966 and licensed it to Brunswick Corp., that some 750,000 were sold over two decades, and that Brunswick sponsored a Snurfer championship at Muskegon, Michigan, from 1968. The Canadian Encyclopedia calls it the earliest marketed snowboarding device in North America; Tom Sims's 1963 shop-class board came earlier but was not marketed (Santa Barbara Independent), so each was first in its own sense. (Snowboarding begins)

Speed skiing

A FIS discipline (SS) in the FIS Statutes 2026 with its own FIS World Championships; GB Snowsport licenses it in the UK. Snell's S-98 text says speed skiing carries extra risk for which more protective headgear may be appropriate. (What skiing and snowboarding are)

Splitboard

A snowboard that splits into two ski-like halves for climbing with skins and rejoins for the descent, as Wikipedia describes it. The maker Voile claims a 1991 prototype led to its first do-it-yourself split kit in 1994, and Wikipedia cites a splitboard patent application filed on 7 March 1990; both rest on search summaries. (Snowboards)

Sprint

A short race, defined differently in each discipline. In cross-country the FIS ICR Book II for cross-country, October 2023 edition sets individual and team sprints of 1.0 km to 1.8 km; in biathlon the IBU's sprint is men 10 km and women 7.5 km with two shooting stages; and in ski mountaineering the ISMF Rules & Guidelines 2025-26 (in force from 30 October 2025) describe a short climb on skis, a section on foot with skis on the backpack and a gated descent, with Olympic heats of six. (Cross-country)

Street style (freeski and snowboard)

A course of street-style features such as boxes, wall-rides and jibs, with two or more lines, on a slope 10 m to 30 m wide, under the FIS ICR Book VI for snowboard, freestyle and freeski, June 2026 edition (article 3102.5). FIS's 2026/27 Southern Hemisphere Precisions rename the former rail event as street style. (Freestyle and freeski)

Super team (ski jumping)

A ski jumping team event. FIS lists the men's super team as new at Milano Cortina 2026, where on 16 February Austria won, Poland took silver and Norway bronze after a snowstorm cancelled the final round. According to a FIS-hosted marked-up copy of ICR Book III for ski jumping, in which 2025 and 2026 changes are merged, so the figures are unconfirmed until checked against a clean copy, a team is two or four jumpers depending on the format. The Sports Examiner reports a women's super team added for 2030. (Milano Cortina 2026)

Super-G (alpine skiing)

An alpine speed event, grouped by FIS with downhill. Under the FIS International Competition Rules (ICR) Book IV for alpine skiing, July 2020 edition (the current alpine ICR was not read) (articles 1001 to 1006) it is one run with a vertical drop of 400 m to 650 m for men and 400 m to 600 m for women at the Olympics, World Championships and World Cup, mixing long and medium turns with jumps where the terrain allows. The FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 set a minimum ski length at levels 0 and 1 of 205 cm for women and 210 cm for men, a new maximum of 215 cm and 218 cm, and a minimum sidecut radius of 40 m (women) and 45 m (men). (Alpine skiing)

Swiss-Ski

The Swiss Ski Federation, founded on 20 November 1904 in Olten according to Swissinfo (2003); the number of founding clubs rests on a search summary. (National federations)

T

T-bar

A surface lift with bars that pull skiers uphill. The German Patent and Trade Mark Office says Zurich engineer Ernst Gustav Constam filed a patent for a towing cableway in 1930 and that his lift on the Bolgen slope at Davos had its test run on 23 December 1934 and opened to the public on 24 December, with J-shaped bars for one person until instructor Jack Ettinger proposed the T-bar for two after the first season. Swissinfo gives 23 December as the start of service, and a Swiss Museum of Transport record, seen in a search summary, gives 26 December. Swissinfo says T-bars made up 44% of Switzerland's 1,650 lifts in December 2024. (Ski lifts)

Team combined (alpine skiing)

An alpine team event of one downhill run and one slalom run. Ski Racing (February 2025) describes teams of two from the same nation, combined time deciding, the slalom start order reversing the downhill results, up to four teams per nation and no World Cup points; FIS's own team combined rules were not found. It made its World Championship debut at Saalbach in 2025, where FIS says Mikaela Shiffrin and Breezy Johnson won the women's event, and its Olympic debut at Milano Cortina 2026, where FIS's results show the men's silver shared by two teams and no bronze awarded. (Alpine skiing)

Technical Safety BC

The regulator of passenger ropeways (tramways, gondolas, chairlifts, rope tows and passenger conveyors) in British Columbia, under the Safety Standards Act and the Elevating Devices Safety Regulation. Its technology page names CSA standard Z98-14, while a search summary of its 2024 State of Safety report says it adopted CSA Z98-24, published in December 2024; the newer edition is unconfirmed. (Lift safety regulators)

Telemark

A FIS discipline (TM) with its own World Championships, not on the 2026 Olympic programme. FIS's ICR for telemark (2026 spring edition, article 1701) says a race may contain jumps, a 360-degree banked turn, a cross-country skating section, whoops and a super-telemark, with the telemark section usually 60% to 70% of race time; racers who do not land in the telemark position where the rule applies take a one-second penalty. The telemark turn takes its name from Telemark county in Norway, Sondre Norheim's home, and sondrenorheim.com says he showed it outside Telemark in 1868. ISO 9523 excludes telemark boots. How the turn is made is not described here. (Ski mountaineering and telemark)

Terrain park

Designated freestyle terrain, which Colorado law (C.R.S. 33-44-107) requires to be signed with an orange oval. In a five-season study at two western US ski areas (2000-01 to 2004-05), Brooks, Evans and Rivara (2010) found 26.7% of analysed injuries happened in terrain parks, where head injuries were 15.5% and concussions 14.6% of injuries, against 8.9% and 6.5% on other slopes, and 27% of those injured in parks wore helmets. These figures belong to that study only. Any injury needs medical care. (Injuries named)

Tour de Ski

A multi-stage cross-country event within the FIS World Cup. FIS says Jessie Diggins won her third Tour in 2025-26 and that Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo is the only skier with five Tour titles. The 2026-27 Tour starts at Les Rousses, France, its first French stop, on 1 January 2027, continues at Oberstdorf and finishes with the Alpe Cermis climb in Val di Fiemme, per FIS's calendar of 11 May 2026; it is upcoming on 24 October 2026. (The 2026-27 season)

Tree well

The space around a tree, under its branches, that gets less snow than the open ground around it, as Wikipedia defines it. Wikipedia, citing DeepSnowSafety.org, says 39 skiers and snowboarders died of snow immersion suffocation in the US over a nine-year period, two thirds of them in tree wells. NSAA's tree well and deep snow safety page covers these accidents; see snow immersion suffocation. (Tree wells and snow immersion)

Trondheim 2025 suit case

A FIS case over ski jumping suits at the 2025 Nordic World Championships, given here only as FIS decided it. On 12 March 2025 FIS provisionally suspended the Norwegian coaches Magnus Brevik and Thomas Lobben, service staff member Adrian Livelten and athletes Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang pending investigation. On 22 August 2025 the FIS Ethics Committee approved a settlement agreement under Rule 61 for Forfang and Lindvik over the manipulation of their jumping suits, and its decision of 8 January 2026 made the three officials ineligible for at least 18 months, less the time already served. FIS spells the head coach's surname Brevik and Brevig in different statements; the athletes' settlement terms were not on the FIS pages read. (World Championships)

U

UIAA

The international mountaineering federation, whose Safety Commission sets equipment standards: UIAA 156 for avalanche rescue shovels (17 July 2017, its 23rd safety standard) and UIAA 157 for avalanche rescue probes. An ISSW 2023 paper says the Commission decided in 2013 to develop avalanche rescue equipment standards. The ISMF Rules & Guidelines 2025-26 (in force from 30 October 2025) accept helmets meeting UIAA 106 or EN 12492, each with EN 1077 class B. A UIAA page seen only in a search summary says its standards are self-regulatory, not legally binding. (Avalanche equipment standards)

U.S. Ski & Snowboard

The US federation for ski and snowboard sports, which a search summary of its own page describes as the Olympic and Paralympic National Governing Body, based in Park City, Utah (the page could not be opened). Search summaries of its pages say it traces itself to the National Ski Association, which The Mining Journal says was founded at Ishpeming, Michigan, on 21 February 1905. Its 2018-19 concussion policy for members covers athletes under 18. (National federations)

V

Vasaloppet

A 90 km cross-country race in Sweden from Berga by, Salen, to Mora, which the ISHA compiled timeline says commemorates an episode of 1521 to 1522 involving Gustav Vasa and two Mora farmers on skis, and was founded in 1922. The organiser's results give the 102nd edition, on 1 March 2026, to Oskar Kardin (Sweden) and Emilie Fleten (Norway). (Classic races)

Very high (avalanche danger level 5, Europe)

The top level of the five-level European avalanche danger scale published by EAWS; the North American scale calls level 5 Extreme. EAWS gives no fatality share for level 5. In the proposed new European scale, the 2025 EAWS General Assembly chose dark red rather than black for level 5. (Avalanches as published)

W

Waist and shoulder width (racing skis)

Two FIS ski measurements: the waist is the narrowest running-surface width in the middle section and the shoulder the widest point of the shovel, both defined by reference to ISO 6289. The FIS Specifications for Alpine Competition Equipment, edition 2026/2027 set a 65 mm maximum waist in downhill, super-G and giant slalom and a 63 mm minimum in slalom, and a maximum shoulder of 95 mm in downhill and super-G and 103 mm in giant slalom. (FIS race ski rules)

Winterhalder lift

What the German Patent and Trade Mark Office calls the world's first ski lift, which went into operation on 14 February 1908 at Schollach near Eisenbach in the Black Forest: Robert Winterhalder's water-powered pulling rope, about 280 m long and rising 32 m, dismantled during the First World War. Smithsonian Magazine (2021) gives 1906; Der Tagesspiegel (2015) says building began in 1906 and the lift opened on 14 February 1908, so on that account 1906 is the start of construction. (Ski lifts)

World Championships (FIS)

FIS's championships, which it says it holds every two years in nine forms: alpine, Nordic, freestyle and snowboard, Para alpine, Para cross-country, Para snowboard, telemark, grass skiing and speed skiing. FIS says they began with its 1924 decision to invite racers each year to a large international competition; Skiing History magazine dates the first recognised Nordic World Championships to 1925 and the first FIS alpine championships to Murren in 1931. For 2027, all upcoming on 24 October 2026, FIS gives Crans-Montana (alpine, 1 to 14 February) and Montafon (freestyle, freeski and snowboard, 6 to 21 March); Falun's Nordic dates are 22 February to 7 March in FIS's January 2026 calendar, but 24 February to 7 March in a 2024 FIS tender and 17 to 28 February in June 2025 Council minutes, both seen only in search summaries. (World Championships)

World Cup (FIS)

FIS's season-long series in each discipline; FIS says it sanctions about 330 World Cup events a year, and its 1967 Beirut congress recognised the World Alpine Ski Cup. FIS's World Cup Rules for snowboard, freestyle, freeski and ski cross (2025/26) give 100 points for first, 80 for second, 60 for third and 50 for fourth, down to 30th place. The 2026-27 alpine World Cup is in progress: its two opening giant slaloms have been run at Soelden, the women's on 24 October 2026, won by Paula Moltzan (her first World Cup win, FIS says), and the men's on 25 October 2026, won by Lucas Pinheiro Braathen ahead of Loic Meillard and Marco Odermatt (FIS official results). The finals are at Sun Valley in March 2027, and no 2026-27 standings winner can be given while the season runs. (The 2026-27 season)

World Snowboard Federation

A snowboard federation that, by its own history, was formed in Munich on 10 August 2002 by delegates from 14 nations on the initiative of Japan and Norway. It says a 2019 agreement with FIS made FIS the representative governing body and the WSF the authority for grassroots snowboarding. (Snowboarding joins the mountain)

X

X Games Aspen

The X Games winter event at Buttermilk, Aspen, Colorado, finished on 24 October 2026 for its 23 to 25 January 2026 edition, with 18 competitions planned over three days (X Games). Its ski and snowboard contests include slopestyle, big air, superpipe and knuckle huck; at the 2026 edition Scotty James won the men's snowboard superpipe. The dates of the 2027 edition were not found. (X Games and freeride)

Y

Your Responsibility Code (NSAA)

The NSAA's code for US skiers and riders, in its 2022 version of ten points; NSAA says it first developed the code in 1962 and that the 2022 revision grew it from seven points, adding points on impairment by alcohol or drugs and on what to do after a collision. Its points cover staying in control, giving way to people ahead or downhill, stopping only where visible, looking uphill before starting, preventing runaway equipment, obeying signs, keeping off closed terrain, using lifts safely, not using lifts or terrain while impaired, and sharing contact details after a collision. NSAA says older seven-point signs may still be seen. (The codes of conduct)

Z

Zdarsky, Mathias

The Austrian skiing pioneer, teacher, painter and sculptor whom Austria-Forum dates from 25 February 1856, near Trebic in today's Czech Republic, to 20 June 1940, at St. Polten, and credits with the Lilienfeld technique and binding. He held a gate race on the Muckenkogel near Lilienfeld in March 1905, on 19 March according to the Lower Austrian government and on 9 March according to Austria-Forum, which calls it the first slalom; other accounts give that title to Arnold Lunn's Murren slalom of 1922. (The Alps and the ski schools)