The ski lingo you need to know before your holiday

Pistes - Pronounced 'pea-st', these are the defined areas of the mountains you ski or snowboard on. Also known as slopes, they're are made flat every evening so you ski on nice smooth snow.

Nursery slopes/green runs -These are the most gentle slopes on the mountain and designed for first time skiers and snowboarders. They’re very wide and very safe, ideal for learning on.

Blue runs -These are for beginners and improvers looking for a slightly steeper slope to push their skills.

Red runs-Reds are intermediate slopes ideal for good skiers and boarders looking for more of a challenge.

Black runs -The most difficult and steepest slopes on the mountain. These are for experts only.

Off-piste skiing-For experts only, going off-piste involves skiing outside the marked pistes and trails on unprepared slopes and can be hazardous.

Lift pass -This is a card (about the size of a credit card) that lets you on to the lifts that take you up the mountain, saving you a really long walk! They’re sometimes split in to ‘local’ and ‘area’ passes depending on how much of the mountain you want access to. As a beginner, you’ll only need the local pass

Magic carpet- Generally found on nursery slopes, a magic carpet is a type of surface lift that you stand on to transport skiers and snowboarders up the hill

Drag/button lift -More popular with skiers than snowboarders, a drag lift pulls you up the mountain on your skis or board. Also sometimes called a Pomma

Chair lift-Probably the most popular form of lift, a chair lift has benches suspended from a moving cable

Gondola-A series of small cabins that fit around four to eight people strung along a cable

Cable car -Similar to a gondola, but the single cabin is very large (often about 50 to 100 people) and suspended from a cable

Après-ski - Pronounced 'ap-ray ski', it literally means ‘after ski’ and it’s the nightlife which follows a day on the slopes

Bunny - A skier who appears to be more concerned with whether their boots and gloves match than actually doing any skiing

Dump - A large amount of fresh snow

Edge - The sharpened metal strip on the sides of skis and snowboards, used for gaining control by biting into the snow for smoother turns

Gaper gap - The giant, unmistakable gap of forehead typically visible between a novice’s helmet and goggles. Avoid at all costs

Gnarly - Either a place or activity that is high on the cool/danger scale. Just remember that the 'G' of 'Gnarly' is silent!

Moguls -Small bumps on the pistes, occurring as a result of many people turning in the same place, pushing the snow into small piles with the edges of their skis/boards

Snowplough - A beginner’s technique for slowing down on skis. Instructors call it ‘Pizza’ because of the shape of your skis when snowploughing. The opposite is ‘Chips’

Wipe out - An epic fall which generally results in a face full of snow