Hotham has a unique language - mastering it will help you fit into the local scene.
You’ve made it to Hotham and you're feeling pretty good. You hired your tyre chains, you fuelled up with Alpine diesel. You bought resort entry, you bought your lift passes, you have your accommodation sorted, you hired your ski gear, there’s beer and bubbles in the fridge and a schnitzel waiting for you later.
You’re feeling like you really belong here, you’re starting to settle in. But there’s a nagging feeling - have you covered everything?
No, because one of the most important aspects of your visit to Hotham is being able to understand and speak the language. Some of it is common to all snowsport areas, some of it is specific to Hotham, and all of it will make you sound like a local. Maybe.
We understand. It’s hard to get around this lingo, and we’re here to help.
So here is your insider’s guide to Hotham's unique language, compiled with the help of Hotham locals so that you don’t sound like a jerry. Good luck!
Word
|
Meaning
|
Shred / shredder
|
Skiers or boarders
|
Gnar / Shred the gnar
|
Skiing or snowboarding the snow
|
Pow / powpow
|
Powder snow - the ultimate light, dry snow
|
Slay the pow
|
Get out there and get into the powder
|
Rad
|
Radical! Great, fantastic
|
Froffin’
|
The great feeling you get riding Hotham
|
Frotham
|
Affectionate name for Hotham, based on ‘Froffing’ or ‘Frothing’
|
Yeeewwwwww!
|
Utterance meaning you’re ‘froffin’ and having a great time
|
Planet Hotham / Planet Hoth
|
Affectionate local name for Hotham and a reference to the frozen Planet Hoth in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’
|
Weekend warriors
|
Regulars who come up on the weekend to ride Hotham
|
Punter
|
Non-locals, holidays-makers
|
Punter’s gap
|
Exposed gap of forehead between helmet and goggles
|
Jerry
|
Someone who has no idea what’s going on; a bit of a dag; newbie
|
Facie
|
Face-plant fall
|
Yard sale
|
Skier who falls and loses their skis and poles
|
Scorpion
|
Face plant on a snowboard that results in the board coming over your back and smacking you in the head
|
Penguin slide
|
A fall resulting in you sliding downhill head first on your tummy
|
Rock star run / Hollywood line
|
Any run that goes under a chairlift so your performance is in full view of everyone on the chairlift (the audience)
|
Kicker or booter
|
A jump in a terrain park
|
Park rats
|
Kids who hang around the terrain or rail parks
|
Jibbers
|
Park rats who love doing tricks and jumps
|
Snow bunny
|
Disputed – either an attractive female skier/boarder, or an attractive poser who wears expensive gear but can’t ride
|
Hotham dollar
|
$100 note
|
Chop picnic
|
Riding the slush with your friends
|
Doing a couple of burners
|
Straight-lining the Imagine ski run until the ski patrol tell you off
|
Send it
|
Ride hard / ride big / commit
|
Drop in
|
Enter a run from the top
|
Freshies
|
Riding freshly-fallen snow
|
Groomies
|
Going out for the first lift and riding untouched groomed runs
|
Towies
|
Chairlift operators and all-round great folks
|
Back-side
|
Orchard ski area
|
HV
|
Heavenly Valley ski area
|
Taco
|
A crash in the rail park when you slip off a rail, resulting in you landing on the rail and folding in half like a taco. Only funny when it happens to someone else
|
Village loop
|
Doing a run from the top of the Basin in the Village, down Gully Cat Walk, Slalom Gully and the Swindlers Trail down to the base of the Audi Quattro Chair and coming back up on the chair to do it again
|
A cheeky McCollsy
|
Activity of a parent who drops their children at the Big D for lessons then crosses the road and drops in to the McColls run for their own riding time
|
Chook-footer
|
Cross-country skier
|
Wasabis
|
Guest Services staff out and about in their bright green jackets
|
Sunny Queensland
|
Blue Ribbon ski area on a white-out day
|
Thanks to Kevin Raymond, Steph Houlahan, Colde Abbott, Damian Yates, Sean Mueglitz, Haydn Richards, Nicole Hayes, Chad Taylor, Cameron Bertuch, Kristen Daisy, Alex Steino, Betty Mihalakos, Eddy Hotham, Peta Leeane Brewskis, Lisa Hemingway and Rob Broersen for their help with this article.
Photo by Patrick from Merrimack, NH, United States, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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