Skiing – what does it mean? By Jim Duncombe 
I have worked in the ski industry for many years and have given little thought to it. That is until, last month when I was talking to a non skiing friend about the number of ski seasons I had done, how many ski resorts I had been to, how amazing Après ski is and about my last amazing ski holiday. Towards the end of the conversation my friend had a question about something that was confusing them. “But Jim, you’re a snowboarder?”
This was then brought to my attention again a few weeks later at a meeting with the very company that I now write for. Dionne, who is the director of Alpine Action asked me, as a snow boarder how I felt about how the company interacted with snowboarders. She admitted that the Alpine Action website was tailored towards skiers and not snowboarders, but in a completely unintentional way. “We don’t exclude snowboarders”.
Both incidents raise the same question; what do the words ski, skiing and skied mean? Can they mean more than one thing? Are these words actually metonyms? I think that the answer is yes. On one hand the word ski still refers to the act of skiing, by using skis, which are two pieces of wood strapped on to ones feet for the purpose of gliding across snow. But it is also means a lot more. It represents a larger concept.
So when we say ski holiday we mean, winter sports holiday and could include, skiing, snowboarding, telemarking, blading and other forms of winter transport. A ski resort isn’t for the sole use of skiers, except in some resorts in America and one in France that I forget the name of. And après ski means getting drunk in a ski resort, between the hours of 2pm and 7pm. Some may argue with the last definition and say that you should have at least been on the slopes with some form of equipment before enjoying après ski, otherwise it is just called getting drunk in the afternoon.
Does this matter at all? Well to some people it does. There are many people who despise people who do the opposite discipline to them. Some people are less extreme, but will enter into a conversation about how the other is a nuisance on the slopes, or can be attributed to the construction of moguls. (Quick fact, moguls were around before the invention of the snowboard.) In some aspects the snowboarder can be seen as the more tribal of the winter sports. It is indeed some of these people that wish not to be associated with skiing. But you can’t help but feel that it may stem from the days when snowboarding was seen as yobbish and youthful, even a threat to skiing dominance and was forced into existing as a minority subculture. Fortunately these days, most skiers and snowboarders get on, if they don’t then maybe it is time for them to have a think and get over themselves.
So why do we use the term ski? I am no expert but I would say that it could be a combination of many things. Skiing was there first, is a simple answer. Building on that argument you could then say that it’s quite catchy, in the same way we abbreviate names. Ski has become our joint abbreviation. Lets face it ‘Ski Sunday’ will never change it’s name to Snow Sports Sunday, its just not that… catchy.
Maybe it’s time for skiing to get another name? The chances of that happening are pretty slim. But it is time for us to actively say that ski means more than ski. It encompasses a whole culture that is made up different activities, locations and people. Of course the underlying message is that it is all about the shared experience and enjoyment of sliding down a snow covered mountain.
I for one am not embarrassed, as a snowboarder to say I am off for a ski and I don’t known any snowboarder that would really be put off going on a snow sports holiday just because it was advertised as a ski holiday. As we now know ski is a generic term and I for one look forward to the next ski season starting and I can get out and go for a ski with all my skier and snowboarder mates.
So my response to my friend is that skiing is for everyone not just skiers, although they are different to snowboarders, however we do all go to après ski together. My response to Dionne is that most people accept the term ski to be inclusive and us snowboarders will be happy to book a holiday with Alpine Action. Unless it states skiers only, no snowboarders allowed then there is no need to worry. We all love a good ski holiday.
You can follow Jim on Twitter – @Jimmyduncombe
