Mountain planning terms

Friends, terrain and snow: know what you're planning

Understand riding ability, ski clubs, meetups, snowfall, snow depth and terrain, with practical guides to plan a ski or snowboard day with friends.

Friends and a shared plan

Start with compatible terrain and pace, then agree on the practical details.

Riding Partner: A ski or snowboard friend with compatible mountain plans, terrain preferences and pace.
Ski Club: An organized snow sports group whose membership, trips and activities are confirmed directly with the club.
Ski and Snowboard Community: People who share an interest in skiing or snowboarding and planning mountain days together.
Riding Ability: A rider’s stated comfort and experience on the terrain they plan to ride; trail ratings are relative to each mountain.
Terrain Preference: The kind of runs a rider is comfortable on and wants to ride, such as smooth green or blue runs, steeper black runs, trees or the terrain park.
Riding Pace: How fast a group rides, how often it stops for breaks and when it finishes for the day, agreed before riding together.
Mixed Ability Riding Group: A group with different terrain comfort, experience or pace that agrees on runs and regrouping points.
Ski Buddy Meetup Checklist: A list of what to agree before riding with someone for the first time: the mountain, the date, which runs, how fast, a public place to meet, when to check the forecast and when to head home.
Public Meeting Point: An agreed public place, such as a resort base area, for meeting new riding partners.
Mountain Carpool: Sharing transport to and from a mountain after agreeing on meeting point, seats, equipment, costs and return arrangements.
Base Area: A resort arrival and meeting area near facilities or lift access; confirm the exact landmark with your group.
Après: Social time after skiing or snowboarding, planned separately from the on-mountain riding day.

Snow and mountain weather

Read the source, location, period and update time alongside each snow number.

Forecast Snowfall: An estimate of new snowfall for a specified location and future time period, distinct from a measured snow report or existing snowpack.
Snow Depth: The depth of snow already present at a measurement location; it is different from forecast new snowfall.
Snow Water Equivalent: The water content represented by a snowpack measurement, distinct from snow depth and new snowfall.
Snow Observation: A measured snow reading from an identified station or report at a stated observation time.
Snow Report: A dated report of observed snow or resort conditions, read with its measurement location and reporting period.
Snow Quality: A description of the riding surface at a stated place and time, distinct from a snowfall total.
Forecast Elevation: The elevation represented by a forecast; base, mid-mountain and summit estimates are not necessarily separate station measurements.
Forecast Confidence: The uncertainty or confidence information supplied with an outlook; it does not certify safety or resort operations.
Storm Timing: The expected start, peak and end periods of a storm in the current forecast.
Mountain Road Conditions: Current road access, closures and travel updates from the relevant road service, checked separately from mountain weather.

Terrain and the mountain

Use the operator's local trail map, signs and reports to choose your day's terrain.

Ski Trail: A marked ski or snowboard route at a resort; use its local trail map for difficulty and access information.
Green Circle Terrain: An easier trail rating used at US resorts. Difficulty is relative to the individual resort.
Blue Square Terrain: A more-difficult trail rating used at US resorts. Difficulty is relative to the individual resort.
Black Diamond Terrain: A most-difficult trail rating used at US resorts. Difficulty is relative to the individual resort.
Double Black Diamond Terrain: A most-difficult trail rating calling for extra caution at US resorts. Read the local trail map and signage.
Terrain Park: A freestyle area with features such as jumps or rails; choose features according to the local signage and your experience.
Moguls: Bumps in a ski slope that create a different terrain choice from a smooth groomed run.
Ski School: An operator offering skiing or snowboarding lessons; confirm the current program and booking details directly.
Ski Patrol: The mountain patrol service responsible for resort-specific safety and incident response; contact details and operations come from the resort.
Backcountry Skiing: Skiing outside managed resort terrain; a separate trip context from ordinary resort riding and weather checks.

Everyday ski words

Short meanings for words skiers and snowboarders use in the guides.

Riding, riders: Skiing or snowboarding. Riders are skiers and snowboarders together.
Run: A marked way down the mountain, also called a trail or piste. A sign at the top shows how difficult it is.
Lap: One ride up a lift and one run back down. Doing laps means repeating the same lift and run.
Groomed run, groomers: A run that machines smoothed during the night, so the snow is flat and even. Ungroomed runs keep the snow as it fell, with bumps and deeper snow.
First chair, last chair: First chair is the first lift ride of the morning, when the lifts open. Last chair is the final ride up before the lifts close.
Lift line: The line of people waiting to get on a lift.
Crew: A group of friends who ski or snowboard together.
Meetup: A planned time and place to meet other people, here to ski or snowboard together.
Regroup: To come back together at a place and time agreed earlier, for example after riding different runs or losing each other.
Flats, cat track: Flats are nearly level parts of the mountain, where snowboarders slow down and may need to push or walk. A cat track is a narrow, nearly level path across the slope that links runs.
Tree well: Deep, loose snow around the trunk of a tree. A person who falls in head first can get stuck, so ride among trees with a partner who can see you.

Check the original sources

The NRCS glossary explains snow depth and SWE. The NSAA trail-signage guide explains US trail ratings and why difficulty is relative to each resort. See official weather, avalanche and road resources for current trip information.