Excuse Me While I Shred...

Spend a decent amount of time at Whitewater and you’ll become quite familiar with the act ‘shredding’. It’s an activity that’s most easily observed on a powder day where skiers and boarders alike become impassioned artists printing their mark on the clean white canvas stretched by nature the night before. By last chair the canvas is torn to shreds—a collaborative masterpiece that remains until the skies reset the slopes for another day of art making. This creative expression marks the third installment of our Speakski* series.

Shred verb   |  \ ʃrɛd\  

To shred is to make your mark, to carve it up or draw your line over the slopes. Anyone, any age can shred but the quality and technique of shredding becomes a life long practice for dedicated artists. Each artist develops a preference for approach, line and slope. There are some who shred groomers, some who shred trees and there are others who like to shred the gnar...

Gnar

noun   |  \ när\  

A shortened form of the adjective gnarly used to describe knotted or knotty features such as a gnarled tree for example. The gnar therefore describes a rough canvas, challenging features and tough terrains. For surfers in the 60s it described dangerous waves and for skateboarders, skiers and snowboarders since it shredding the gnar refers to performing well in the midst of challenging terrain or features.

For beginners Little Mucker may be their gnar, for others it could be the steep tight trees of Terrarata, the cliff drops of Sleeper, or the log drops on Backside. Whatever your gnar, however you shred, your line is a valued contribution on this grand canvas we call Whitewater.

*Unlike any other ski hill in Canada, the culture at Whitewater has a unique flavour that has been organically refined over decades by a dedicated following of committed locals.  Our new Speakski Series defines some classic Whitewater terminology so you can keep up with the locals off the hill.