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{{Short description|Type of alpine skiing}}
{{refimprove|date=April 2011}}
[[File:Freestyle skiing jump2.jpg|thumb|300px|right]]
{{distinguish|Freestyle skiing}}
{{original research|date=April 2012}}
Freeskiing, or Newschool skiing is a specific type of [[alpine]] skiing. It is generally considered to be a subset of [[Freestyle skiing]]. The sport does not require participants to compete, but there are competitive events available at every level of the sport. There are currently two Olympic freeskiing events, Ski Superpipe and Ski Slopestlye. These events make up two of the four Olympic freestyle skiing events.
[[File:Freeskiing mute grab.jpg|thumb|Skier performing a mute grab]]
[[File:Freestyle skiing pictogram.svg|thumb|Pictograms of Olympic sports - Freestyle skiing]]
[[File:Belarus souvenir sheet no. 50 - XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin.jpg|thumb|[[Belarus]] postal stamp souvenir sheet commemorating the [[2006 Winter Olympics]] featuring freestyle skiing.]]


'''Freeskiing''', or '''new school skiing''', is a specific type of [[alpine skiing]], which involves tricks, jumps, and [[terrain park]] features, such as rails, boxes, jibs, or other obstacles. This form of skiing resulted from the growth of [[snowboarding]] combined with the progression of [[freestyle skiing]]. "Newschoolers", or those who specifically ski in this style, as opposed to traditional freestylers, [[Freeriding (winter sport)|freeriders]], [[big mountain skier]]s, and racers, are often found in terrain parks, which are designed specifically for tricks.
There is currently a growing number of professional freeskiers. Most are highly competitive skiers, usually specializing in a certain freeskiing discipline. There are however professional skiers who do not compete, and rather produce and star in videos.


Controversially, freestyle skiing is viewed as its own sport, but some view it as a subset of freeskiing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/freestyle-skiing-101-origins-and-olympic-history|title=Freestyle skiing 101: Origins and Olympic history|date=July 18, 2017|website=NBC Olympics|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107031709/http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/freestyle-skiing-101-origins-and-olympic-history|archive-date=November 7, 2017}}</ref> Some participants view it as a separate sport and do not refer to it as freestyle. The sport does not require participants to compete, but there are competitive events available at every level of the sport. Currently there are two [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] freeskiing events, [[half-pipe skiing]] and [[slopestyle]]. These events make up two of the four [[Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics|Olympic freestyle skiing]] events.


The sport has seen continual growth since its inception in the late 1990s. There is currently a growing number of professional freeskiers,{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} most of whom compete, specializing in a certain freeskiing discipline, while a few do not compete, but rather produce and star in videos.


== Newschool terrain ==
==History==
In the 1990's freestyle skiers, discouraged by restrictive laws placed on the sport by the [[International Ski Federation]] (competitive skiing's governing body, known by the [[acronym]] "FIS"), began trying their tricks in what were at the time snowboard-only terrain parks. Early newschool skiers were very aware of the developing style and attitude of snowboarding, and adopted these for their own sport. The Newschool Skier is related more to the snowboarder in his/her style than to the traditional skier's style.


=== Backcountry ===
The FIS freestyle skiing events were governed by restrictive rules that were unpopular in the growing ski community, and slowed down the progression of the sport. Such rules included a ban on inverted tricks in mogul runs, a limit on the number of flips in aerial competitions, and a lack of ski park or pipe competitions. The "Newschool" movement was a breakaway faction of the freeskiers who were unhappy with the FIS.


Any skiing outside the prepared or marked trails is referred to as backcountry or off-[[piste]] skiing. This form of skiing is probably the most mortally dangerous (depending on where and how it is done) because of the high speeds, large drops (sometimes with hidden rocks in the landing), and [[avalanche]]s. This type of skiing has been banned in certain areas of the world because of chances of injury or death. Many see this form of skiing to be the most freeing, because it creates a relationship of just the skier and mountain.<ref name="skiingforever">{{cite web|url=http://www.skiingforever.com/off-piste/|title=Off-piste skiing tips and secrets &#124; How to ski off the piste|publisher=skiingforever.com|access-date=11 July 2014}}</ref> Backcountry skiers consist of both newschool skiers who perform tricks off various terrain features, and oldschoolers as well.
The breakaway faction was led by the New Canadian Air Force, which included the "Godfather of freeskiing", Mike Douglas, and others such as JF Cusson, Vincent Dorion, JP Auclair and Shane Szocs. Also contributing significantly in these early days were Julien Regnier and "the Three Phils", namely, Phil Larose, Phil Belanger and Phil Dion, all of whom were teammates at [[Dynastar]]. After helping Salomon develop their first twin-tip ski, the "1080", the New Canadian Air Force began jumping and filming in traditionally snowboarder dominated terrain parks.


=== Park ===
In recent years, many ski resorts have introduced [[terrain parks]] where skiers and snowboarders can attempt tricks. These parks include many features like rails, boxes, [[jump]]s, hips, [[quarterpipe]]s, and [[halfpipe]]s. It is now quite common for 'Newschool' skiers to use urban features in towns and cities to perform tricks also done in the snowpark. A popular choice of equipment for this terrain is the [[twin-tip ski]]. Twin-tip skis come in all shapes and sizes, and were originally made specifically for newschool skiing. The varieties of twin-tip skis are now more versatile, being marketed towards skiers of all styles and abilities. Twin-tip skis are turned up at both ends to allow for both regular (forwards) and switch (backwards) skiing.


Park is skiing on man-made features provided by the ski area such as jumps, rails, boxes, and halfpipes. According to Freeskier's 2010 Travel Guide the top resorts in North America for park are [[Breckenridge Ski Resort|Breckenridge]], [[Mammoth Mountain Ski Area|Mammoth]], [[Aspen/Snowmass]], [[Park City Mountain Resort|Park City]], [[Poley Mountain]], [[Whistler Blackcomb]], Alivia, and [[Mount Snow]].
On April 6, 2011, the [[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC) announced the addition of the men's and women's ski halfpipe and slopestyle events to the 2014 Winter Olympics in [[Sochi]].Olympic status for ski halfpipe is expected to have a direct impact on the training, funding, and resources available to athletes. In January 2011, the [[United States Ski and Snowboard Association]] launched U.S. Freeskiing in partnership with The North Face, which would presumably supply Olympic uniforms.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/news/story?id=6273652 |title=IOC approves ski Halfpipe for 2014 Olympics |date=April 6, 2011}}</ref>


=== Street or urban skiing ===
==Companies==
There are many relatively small companies that have supported and greatly added to the progression of Newschool Skiing. These companies, including [[Line Skis|Line]], [http://www.stanston.com/ Stanston], [[Armada (company)|Armada]], [[Liberty Skis|Liberty]], [[ON3P]], [[Salomon Skis|Salomon]], [[Amplid]], [[4FRNT Skis|4FRNT]],atomic and [[K2]], as well as others, make skis specific for Newschool Skiing. Line is believed to be the first newschool skiing company, and celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2005. In 2006, Line was bought by [[K2 Sports]]. Contrary to popular belief, the K2 Poacher was the first mass produced twin tip ski to hit the market.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} Dynastar's Concept, Salomon's 1080, and Rossignol's Pow Air were not far behind.


Street or [[Urban area|urban]] skiing consists of sliding or grinding skis on rails, walls, ledges, or other features found in urban areas. Some professional freestyle or newschool skiers, such as Clayton Vila and [[Will Wesson]], specialize in skiing on urban features, while being filmed, producing segments for skiing film companies such as Level 1 productions, Stept Productions, or 4bi9 media.
Within the last decade, traditional ski brands such as [[Salomon Group|Salomon]], [[Skis Rossignol|Rossignol]], [[Völkl]], [[Fischer Skis|Fischer]] and [[Head (company)|Head]] have embraced the newschool revolution and are producing twin tips of their own. Now, most of the popular and larger ski companies produce many twin-tipped newschool skis.
In 2016, the X Games created a video competition called “X Games Real Ski” where a group of professional skiers selected by the X Games have the opportunity to film and submit an urban segment. Winners are selected by a panel of judges, and the public is also given an opportunity to vote for the fan favorite.


== Industry ==
Video production studios [[Teton Gravity Research]], [[Matchstick Productions]] Level 1 productions and Poor Boyz Productions have been popular since the sport evolved in the 1990s. However, several inexperienced amateurs such as Evan Heath of the creatively named Evan Heath Visual have attempted to piggyback on this popularity by following professional skiers around with a camera, pretending they know what they are doing.


=== "Core" Ski Manufacturers ===
==Types of skis==
There are three kinds of newschool skis: Powder, All-Mountain and Park. The Powder ski is wide (also known as fat within the ski industry) and sometimes has a higher tail in order to support switch powder landings. Eric Pollard is the innovator of new school skis, especially Fat Powder skis. The All-Mountain ski is of average width and is equally good on both groomed and powder. The park ski is specifically built for "jibbing" (i.e. skiing on anything other than snow such as rails, boxes, barrels, walls, etc...) and jumps. Park skis are often designed with a more symmetrical shape to make switch (backwards) skiing much easier and reinforced edges to withstand rails. Eric Pollard designed the first two symmetrical skis, the Anthem and the Invader, although he was not given much credit because the Invader was of poor build quality. Pollard now has his own pro model skis from Line skis called the EP Pro (Mr. Pollard's Opus - 2012), The Elizabeth and The Sir Francis Bacon. Some new powder and all-mountain skis are created with 'reverse camber' (aka 'rocker') meaning that the tips and tails are bent up slightly to make powder landings easier.


There are many relatively small companies that have supported and greatly added to the progression of Newschool Skiing. These companies make skis specific for Newschool Skiing. [[Line Skis|Line]] is believed to be the first newschool skiing company.<ref name="lineskis">{{cite web|url=http://lineskis.com/our-story|title=Skiing the Wrong way since '95 &#124; LINE Skis 2013-2014 &#124; Skiing is Fun|publisher=lineskis.com|access-date=11 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425162454/http://lineskis.com/our-story|archive-date=25 April 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Some words used in the newschool community are abbreviated spins (saying 7 instead of 720) as well as butter, jib, hit, session, lap, crown, etc.


== Equipment ==
The largest Newschool Skiing festival in the Midwest is the MWSFF ([[Midwest Ski Film Festival]]), and is held yearly every October. There is also one in Montreal, Quebec called IF3 (International Freeski Film Festival)


Freeskiing requires at least three pieces of gear. [[Skis]], [[Ski boot]]s and [[ski bindings]]. In addition to this, many skiers choose to use poles, goggles, ski clothing and safety gear such as helmets and avalanche gear. Almost everything used by freeskiers is designed specifically for use in freeskiing rather than ordinary skiing.
==Type of Tricks==
===Rail Tricks===
K-Fed: A front switch up blind 270 out
Super-Fed: A front switch up blind 450 out
Super-Duper-Fed: A front switch up Blind 610 out
Future-Fed: A front switch up blind 810 out
Super-Future-Fed: A front switch up blind 990 out
Britney: A blind switch up front 270 out
Disaster: Gap over one kink on a kinked rail
Mr. McDougle: Front switch up, blind switch up to front misty 4 out
50/50: Both skis on the rail feature, parallel to the feature
Ski Slide: One ski on the rail parallel to the feature, the other on the side locking the rider onto the rail.


===Tricks/Terminilogy===
=== Types of skis ===
;Cossack
:An extreme aerial maneuver which requires one to spread their legs apart into spread eagle position and then thrust ones ski poles between their legs and back out.
;Rodeo
: A flip thrown backwards with a spin
;Misty
: A flip thrown forwards with a spin
;Lincoln Loop
: A flip thrown directly over ones shoulder, like a cartwheel in the air
;Helicopter
: A spin done standing straight up with no grab, like a pencil.
;Future Spin:
A trick done with many spins in such a short amount of time. Appears they are "spinning into the future"
;Flat Spin
: A spin done flat as if you were spinning on your side or back on the ground with no flip.
;Cork
: Backwards thrown off-axis spin, at no point should your feet be over your head
;Bio
: Forwards thrown off-axis spin, at no point should your feet be over your head
;Thug zone
: The zone which is at the bottom of the landing.
;Switch Batmobile
: When the skier land switch (or backwards) sitting down on the back of their skis and getting to the point where they almost blow up, but hold it together and ride it out like a thug


There are three kinds of newschool skis: powder, all-mountain and park (twin tip).
==Newschool terrain==
===Backcountry===
Any skiing outside the prepared or marked trails is referred to as backcountry or off-piste skiing. This form of skiing is probably the most mortally dangerous (depending on where and how you do it) because of the high speeds, large drops (sometimes with hidden rocks in the landing), and [[avalanche]]s. This type of skiing has been banned in certain areas of the world because of chances of [[injury]] and/or [[death]]. {{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} Backcountry skiers consist of both newschool skiers who perform tricks off various terrain features, and oldschoolers as well.


===Park===
==== Powder ====
Park is skiing on man-made features provided by the ski area such as jumps, rails, boxes, and halfpipes. According to Freeskier's 2010 Travel Guide the top resorts in North America for park are [[Breckenridge Ski Resort|Breckenridge]], [[Mammoth Mountain Ski Area|Mammoth]], [[Aspen/Snowmass]], [[Park City Mountain Resort|Park City]], [[Poley Mountain]], Whistler Blackcomb and Avila.


Powder skis, also called big-mountain or backcountry skis, have a wide waist width, making them ideal for places with heavy powder. The extra surface area helps skiers to float above premium powder. However, they can be difficult to use on slopes with less snow or groomed trails, especially for beginning to moderate skiers. Experienced skiers sometimes buy powder skis as an alternate pair, to be used when conditions warrant it. True backcountry skis have a waist width of 90 to 110 millimeters, while powder skis are the widest type, measuring from 110 to 140 millimeters.<ref name="howstuffworks">{{cite web|url=http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/snow-sports/snow-skis2.htm|title=HowStuffWorks &quot;Twin-tip Skis&quot;|publisher=adventure.howstuffworks.com|access-date=11 July 2014}}</ref>
===Urban===
Urban skiing consists of sliding or grinding your skis on rails, ledges, etc. outside of ski resorts/areas. Urban has much more of a risk factor than regular park skiing due to harder terrain. You can spot urban features in such ski movies as Level 1's "Eye Trip" and Poor Boyz Production's "Revolver".


==== All-mountain ====
==Notable skiers==
*[[Shane McConkey]]
*[[Sarah Burke]]
*[[Tom Wallisch]]
*[[Stan Lee]]
*[[Jon Olsson]]
*[[JP Auclair]]


Most Alpine skis fall into this category. All-mountain skis are designed to perform in all types of snow conditions and at most speeds. Narrower all-mountain skis are better for groomed runs, while wider styles handle better in powder and poor conditions. Other names for this style of ski include mid-fat skis, all-purpose skis, and the one-ski quiver.<ref name="skis">{{cite web|url=http://www.skis.com/docs/buying-guide-skis/#TypesOfSkis|title=Buying Guide for Skis by Skis.com|publisher=skis.com|access-date=11 July 2014}}</ref>


==== Park ====


Park skis are often designed with a more symmetrical shape to make switch (backwards) skiing much easier and reinforced edges to withstand rails. Eric Pollard designed the first two symmetrical skis, the Anthem and the Invader. Pollard now has his own pro model skis from Line skis called the EP Pro (Mr. Pollard's Opus - 2012), the Elizabeth and the Sir Francis Bacon. Some new powder and all-mountain skis are created with 'reverse camber' (aka 'rocker') meaning that the tips and tails are bent up slightly to make powder landings easier.


== Terminology ==


=== Rail Tricks ===


* Spin on
: When a skier spins around before landing on a rail, generally done in increments of 180 degrees starting at 270 (e.g. 270,450 630). When performed, spin on tricks are called in the following fashion: spin amount (can be full name or abbreviated) + on. For example, 450-on, and 4-on are both proper ways to call a trick.


* Spin out
{{see|:Category:Freeskiers}}
: When a skier spins at the end of a rail, generally done increments of 180 degrees starting at 270 (e.g. 270, 450, 630). When performed, spin out tricks are called in the following fashion: spin amount (can be full name or abbreviated) + out. For example, 450-out, and 4-out are both proper ways to call a trick.


* Switch-up
==External links==
: While sliding a rail the skier jumps and turns 180 degrees so they end up sliding the rail in the opposite direction. Also called 'swap'. Swaps can be done 'frontside' or 'backside/blindside'. As well, skiers can switch-up more than 180 degrees; for example, a '360-switch-up'/'3-swap' involves the skier jumping on a rail feature, spinning 360 degrees, and landing again on the rail.
*[http://www.Newschoolers.com www.Newschoolers.com]


* K-Fed
==References==
: A front switch-up blind 270 out. Higher increments of spin are called "Super-Fed", "Super-Duper-Fed", "Future-Fed" and "Super-Future Fed" for spins of 450, 630, 810, and 990 out, respectively. The term "K-Fed" was invented by the members of 4bi9 media, more specifically Tyler Barnes.

* Blind swap two out
: A blind switch-up front 270 out. This trick is sometimes referred to as a Britney.
* Disaster
: Gap over one kink on a kinked rail.

* 50/50
: Both skis on the rail feature, parallel to the feature.

* Ski Slide
: One ski is on the rail feature, while the other is off

* Hippy Killer, Bindsoul, Jack Knife, Dick Squeeze, etc...
: All are "rail wizardry" tricks popularized by Andy Parry. The Hippy Killer, the most well-known of these, involves bringing your trailing ski up and over the side of a box, using your ski to latch on the underside of the box, and then using this to perform a switch up.

=== Jump Tricks ===

* Spin
: The most basic of jump tricks; a skier spins upright while airborne in increments of 180 degrees. Often abbreviated as just the first number for spins below 1000 degrees and the first two numbers for spins above 1000 degrees (e.g. two full spins, or 720 degrees of rotation is abbreviated to '7' while a 1080 is abbreviated to '10').

* Backflip
: A backwards flip.

* Rodeo
: An off-axis flip thrown backwards with a spin (most commonly 540 - 'Rodeo 5').

* Misty
: An off-axis flip thrown forwards with a spin (most commonly 540 - 'Misty 5').

* Side flip Loop
: A flip thrown directly towards the shoulder. It is essentially a cartwheel in the air.

* Lincoln Loop
: A tilted backflip done more like a backflip in direction but as side flip with the body

* Flat Spin
: An off-axis flip that is thrown over the shoulder. It is in-between a backflip and a lincoln loop.

* Cork
: Backwards thrown off-axis spin, at no point should the feet be over the head.
[[File:Cork 720 ski (perfect).webm|thumbnail|A short video of Cork]]
* D-Spin
: Backwards thrown off-axis spin, similar to a cork except the feet will be more at-level with head, or even slightly above.

* Bio
: Forwards thrown off-axis spin, at no point should the feet be over the head.

=== Slang ===
* Steeze
: Used to say something such as a skiers style, or a particular trick, was visually appealing or 'steezy'. 'Steeze' is a portmanteau of 'style' and 'ease'. Example: 'Man, that flip you did was steezy'; or, 'you have killer steeze'.

* Spin-to-Win
: A common complaint in the ski community when a competition is won by performing more difficult tricks - or those with greater amounts of rotation, with less emphasis on style or perfection.

* Sandbag
: The act of participating in an event where one's skill far exceeds that of the intended group. A professional competing in an amateur competition would be said to be 'sandbagging' the competition.

* Yard Sale
: A term to describe someone's wipe out, referring to how their items are scattered. Typically yelled at those below while riding the ski lift.

* Solid Seven
: A derogatory term used to say something was visually appealing.

*[[Gaper Day|Gaper]]
: Derogatory term for an inexperienced skier. A stereotypical "gaper gap" is one between the skier's goggles and helmet or hat.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://buckrail.com/a-gapers-guide-to-gaper-day/ |title=A Gaper's Guide to Gaper Day |date=March 31, 2018 |website=Buckrail |author=Shannon |access-date=June 15, 2019 }}</ref> See also ''punter'', ''jerry''.

* Punter
: Derogatory term for an inexperienced skier, especially a day tripper.

* Jerry
: Derogatory term for an inexperienced skier with little knowledge of ski etiquette or culture, or a skier who has expensive equipment or a look modeled after a pro, yet little skill.

* Cool Story Hansel
: A largely antiquated term used by newschoolers to inform another skier that they don't really care what they have to say.

* Stomped
: An effortless looking and balanced landing.

* Train
: Two or more skiers hitting a single jump at or near the same time so that at least two people are airborne at the same time.

* Hucked
: Someone doing a trick on a smaller jump than is usual for the trick ("He hucked a 1080 on that tiny jump") OR someone attempting a trick with a large amount of uncertainty success ('She had never tried a rodeo before; but, she just hucked it').

* Future Spin
: A spin trick where the skier spins so much that the number of degrees spun exceeds the numerical value of the current year. To successfully land a future spin at this day and age, a skier would have to spin 2023 degrees or more (closest rotation would be 2160 degrees, that is, six full revolutions).

* Afterbang
: Landing an outrageous trick and acting as if it took little effort; 'leaned back and relaxed'.

== Notable freeskiers ==
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[Alex Hall (skier)|Alex Hall]]
* [[Alex Bellemare]]
* [[Alex Beaulieu-Marchand]]
* [[James Woods (freestyle skier)|James Woods]]
* [[Jesper Tjäder]]
* [[Mark Abma]]
* [[JP Auclair]]
* [[Ingrid Backstrom]]
* [[Noah Bowman]]
* [[Bill Briggs (skier)|Bill Briggs]]
* [[Bobby Brown (freestyle skier)|Bobby Brown]]
* [[Sarah Burke]]
* [[Sammy Carlson]]
* [[Guerlain Chicherit]]
* [[Doug Coombs]]
* [[Chris Davenport]]
* [[Justin Dorey]]
* [[Simon Dumont]]
* [[Nick Goepper]]
* [[Tanner Hall (skier)|Tanner Hall]]
* [[Janette Hargin]]
* [[Henrik Harlaut]]
* [[Russ Henshaw]]
* [[Eric Hjorleifson]]
* [[C. R. Johnson]]
* [[Kristi Leskinen]]
* [[Jossi Wells]]
* [[Shane McConkey]]
* [[Seth Morrison (skier)|Seth Morrison]]
* [[Jonny Moseley]]
* [[Jon Olsson]]
* [[Sean Pettit]]
* [[Glen Plake]]
* [[Eric Pollard (skier)|Eric Pollard]]
* [[Mike Riddle]]
* [[Kevin Rolland]]
* [[Sylvain Saudan]]
* [[TJ Schiller]]
* [[Scot Schmidt]]
* [[Candide Thovex]]
* [[Kaya Turski]]
* [[Tom Wallisch]]
* [[Torin Yater-Wallace]]
* [[Richard Williams (skier)|Richard Williams]]
}}

{{further|:Category: Freeskiers}}

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Aerial skiing]]
* [[Alpine skiing]]
* [[Backcountry skiing]]
* [[Extreme skiing]]
* [[FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships]]
* [[FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup]]
* [[Freeriding (winter sport)|Freeriding]]
* [[Freestyle skiing]]
* [[Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics]]
* [[Half-pipe skiing|Half-pipe]]
* [[List of Olympic venues in freestyle skiing]]
* [[List of skiing topics]]
* [[Mogul skiing]]
* [[Ski ballet]]
* [[Ski cross]]
* [[Slopestyle]]
* [[X Games]]
* [[IF3 International Freeski Film Festival]]
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Newschool Skiing}}
{{Skiing}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Alpine skiing]]


[[Category:Types of skiing]]
[[de:Freeskiing]]
[[it:Newschool skiing]]
[[Category:Alpine skiing]]
[[Category:Freestyle skiing]]
[[pl:Freeskiing]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[pt:Freeskiing]]
[[ru:Ньюскул (горные лыжи)]]
[[fi:New school -laskettelu]]
[[sv:Friåkning]]

Latest revision as of 02:48, 29 October 2024

Not to be confused with Freestyle skiing.
Skier performing a mute grab
Pictograms of Olympic sports - Freestyle skiing
Belarus postal stamp souvenir sheet commemorating the 2006 Winter Olympics featuring freestyle skiing.

Freeskiing, or new school skiing, is a specific type of alpine skiing, which involves tricks, jumps, and terrain park features, such as rails, boxes, jibs, or other obstacles. This form of skiing resulted from the growth of snowboarding combined with the progression of freestyle skiing. "Newschoolers", or those who specifically ski in this style, as opposed to traditional freestylers, freeriders, big mountain skiers, and racers, are often found in terrain parks, which are designed specifically for tricks.

Controversially, freestyle skiing is viewed as its own sport, but some view it as a subset of freeskiing.[1] Some participants view it as a separate sport and do not refer to it as freestyle. The sport does not require participants to compete, but there are competitive events available at every level of the sport. Currently there are two Olympic freeskiing events, half-pipe skiing and slopestyle. These events make up two of the four Olympic freestyle skiing events.

The sport has seen continual growth since its inception in the late 1990s. There is currently a growing number of professional freeskiers,[citation needed] most of whom compete, specializing in a certain freeskiing discipline, while a few do not compete, but rather produce and star in videos.

Newschool terrain

[edit]

Backcountry

[edit]

Any skiing outside the prepared or marked trails is referred to as backcountry or off-piste skiing. This form of skiing is probably the most mortally dangerous (depending on where and how it is done) because of the high speeds, large drops (sometimes with hidden rocks in the landing), and avalanches. This type of skiing has been banned in certain areas of the world because of chances of injury or death. Many see this form of skiing to be the most freeing, because it creates a relationship of just the skier and mountain.[2] Backcountry skiers consist of both newschool skiers who perform tricks off various terrain features, and oldschoolers as well.

Park

[edit]

Park is skiing on man-made features provided by the ski area such as jumps, rails, boxes, and halfpipes. According to Freeskier's 2010 Travel Guide the top resorts in North America for park are Breckenridge, Mammoth, Aspen/Snowmass, Park City, Poley Mountain, Whistler Blackcomb, Alivia, and Mount Snow.

Street or urban skiing

[edit]

Street or urban skiing consists of sliding or grinding skis on rails, walls, ledges, or other features found in urban areas. Some professional freestyle or newschool skiers, such as Clayton Vila and Will Wesson, specialize in skiing on urban features, while being filmed, producing segments for skiing film companies such as Level 1 productions, Stept Productions, or 4bi9 media. In 2016, the X Games created a video competition called “X Games Real Ski” where a group of professional skiers selected by the X Games have the opportunity to film and submit an urban segment. Winners are selected by a panel of judges, and the public is also given an opportunity to vote for the fan favorite.

Industry

[edit]

"Core" Ski Manufacturers

[edit]

There are many relatively small companies that have supported and greatly added to the progression of Newschool Skiing. These companies make skis specific for Newschool Skiing. Line is believed to be the first newschool skiing company.[3]

Equipment

[edit]

Freeskiing requires at least three pieces of gear. Skis, Ski boots and ski bindings. In addition to this, many skiers choose to use poles, goggles, ski clothing and safety gear such as helmets and avalanche gear. Almost everything used by freeskiers is designed specifically for use in freeskiing rather than ordinary skiing.

Types of skis

[edit]

There are three kinds of newschool skis: powder, all-mountain and park (twin tip).

Powder

[edit]

Powder skis, also called big-mountain or backcountry skis, have a wide waist width, making them ideal for places with heavy powder. The extra surface area helps skiers to float above premium powder. However, they can be difficult to use on slopes with less snow or groomed trails, especially for beginning to moderate skiers. Experienced skiers sometimes buy powder skis as an alternate pair, to be used when conditions warrant it. True backcountry skis have a waist width of 90 to 110 millimeters, while powder skis are the widest type, measuring from 110 to 140 millimeters.[4]

All-mountain

[edit]

Most Alpine skis fall into this category. All-mountain skis are designed to perform in all types of snow conditions and at most speeds. Narrower all-mountain skis are better for groomed runs, while wider styles handle better in powder and poor conditions. Other names for this style of ski include mid-fat skis, all-purpose skis, and the one-ski quiver.[5]

Park

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Park skis are often designed with a more symmetrical shape to make switch (backwards) skiing much easier and reinforced edges to withstand rails. Eric Pollard designed the first two symmetrical skis, the Anthem and the Invader. Pollard now has his own pro model skis from Line skis called the EP Pro (Mr. Pollard's Opus - 2012), the Elizabeth and the Sir Francis Bacon. Some new powder and all-mountain skis are created with 'reverse camber' (aka 'rocker') meaning that the tips and tails are bent up slightly to make powder landings easier.

Terminology

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Rail Tricks

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  • Spin on
When a skier spins around before landing on a rail, generally done in increments of 180 degrees starting at 270 (e.g. 270,450 630). When performed, spin on tricks are called in the following fashion: spin amount (can be full name or abbreviated) + on. For example, 450-on, and 4-on are both proper ways to call a trick.
  • Spin out
When a skier spins at the end of a rail, generally done increments of 180 degrees starting at 270 (e.g. 270, 450, 630). When performed, spin out tricks are called in the following fashion: spin amount (can be full name or abbreviated) + out. For example, 450-out, and 4-out are both proper ways to call a trick.
  • Switch-up
While sliding a rail the skier jumps and turns 180 degrees so they end up sliding the rail in the opposite direction. Also called 'swap'. Swaps can be done 'frontside' or 'backside/blindside'. As well, skiers can switch-up more than 180 degrees; for example, a '360-switch-up'/'3-swap' involves the skier jumping on a rail feature, spinning 360 degrees, and landing again on the rail.
  • K-Fed
A front switch-up blind 270 out. Higher increments of spin are called "Super-Fed", "Super-Duper-Fed", "Future-Fed" and "Super-Future Fed" for spins of 450, 630, 810, and 990 out, respectively. The term "K-Fed" was invented by the members of 4bi9 media, more specifically Tyler Barnes.
  • Blind swap two out
A blind switch-up front 270 out. This trick is sometimes referred to as a Britney.
  • Disaster
Gap over one kink on a kinked rail.
  • 50/50
Both skis on the rail feature, parallel to the feature.
  • Ski Slide
One ski is on the rail feature, while the other is off
  • Hippy Killer, Bindsoul, Jack Knife, Dick Squeeze, etc...
All are "rail wizardry" tricks popularized by Andy Parry. The Hippy Killer, the most well-known of these, involves bringing your trailing ski up and over the side of a box, using your ski to latch on the underside of the box, and then using this to perform a switch up.

Jump Tricks

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  • Spin
The most basic of jump tricks; a skier spins upright while airborne in increments of 180 degrees. Often abbreviated as just the first number for spins below 1000 degrees and the first two numbers for spins above 1000 degrees (e.g. two full spins, or 720 degrees of rotation is abbreviated to '7' while a 1080 is abbreviated to '10').
  • Backflip
A backwards flip.
  • Rodeo
An off-axis flip thrown backwards with a spin (most commonly 540 - 'Rodeo 5').
  • Misty
An off-axis flip thrown forwards with a spin (most commonly 540 - 'Misty 5').
  • Side flip Loop
A flip thrown directly towards the shoulder. It is essentially a cartwheel in the air.
  • Lincoln Loop
A tilted backflip done more like a backflip in direction but as side flip with the body
  • Flat Spin
An off-axis flip that is thrown over the shoulder. It is in-between a backflip and a lincoln loop.
  • Cork
Backwards thrown off-axis spin, at no point should the feet be over the head.
A short video of Cork
  • D-Spin
Backwards thrown off-axis spin, similar to a cork except the feet will be more at-level with head, or even slightly above.
  • Bio
Forwards thrown off-axis spin, at no point should the feet be over the head.

Slang

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  • Steeze
Used to say something such as a skiers style, or a particular trick, was visually appealing or 'steezy'. 'Steeze' is a portmanteau of 'style' and 'ease'. Example: 'Man, that flip you did was steezy'; or, 'you have killer steeze'.
  • Spin-to-Win
A common complaint in the ski community when a competition is won by performing more difficult tricks - or those with greater amounts of rotation, with less emphasis on style or perfection.
  • Sandbag
The act of participating in an event where one's skill far exceeds that of the intended group. A professional competing in an amateur competition would be said to be 'sandbagging' the competition.
  • Yard Sale
A term to describe someone's wipe out, referring to how their items are scattered. Typically yelled at those below while riding the ski lift.
  • Solid Seven
A derogatory term used to say something was visually appealing.
Derogatory term for an inexperienced skier. A stereotypical "gaper gap" is one between the skier's goggles and helmet or hat.[6] See also punter, jerry.
  • Punter
Derogatory term for an inexperienced skier, especially a day tripper.
  • Jerry
Derogatory term for an inexperienced skier with little knowledge of ski etiquette or culture, or a skier who has expensive equipment or a look modeled after a pro, yet little skill.
  • Cool Story Hansel
A largely antiquated term used by newschoolers to inform another skier that they don't really care what they have to say.
  • Stomped
An effortless looking and balanced landing.
  • Train
Two or more skiers hitting a single jump at or near the same time so that at least two people are airborne at the same time.
  • Hucked
Someone doing a trick on a smaller jump than is usual for the trick ("He hucked a 1080 on that tiny jump") OR someone attempting a trick with a large amount of uncertainty success ('She had never tried a rodeo before; but, she just hucked it').
  • Future Spin
A spin trick where the skier spins so much that the number of degrees spun exceeds the numerical value of the current year. To successfully land a future spin at this day and age, a skier would have to spin 2023 degrees or more (closest rotation would be 2160 degrees, that is, six full revolutions).
  • Afterbang
Landing an outrageous trick and acting as if it took little effort; 'leaned back and relaxed'.

Notable freeskiers

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Further information: Category: Freeskiers

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Freestyle skiing 101: Origins and Olympic history". NBC Olympics. July 18, 2017. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017.
  2. ^ "Off-piste skiing tips and secrets | How to ski off the piste". skiingforever.com. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Skiing the Wrong way since '95 | LINE Skis 2013-2014 | Skiing is Fun". lineskis.com. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  4. ^ "HowStuffWorks "Twin-tip Skis"". adventure.howstuffworks.com. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  5. ^ "Buying Guide for Skis by Skis.com". skis.com. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  6. ^ Shannon (March 31, 2018). "A Gaper's Guide to Gaper Day". Buckrail. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
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